What Is the Franklin Hotel?
Part of the Deadwood Historic District, this was Deadwood’s first luxury hotel!
What Makes It Historical?
Harris Finkelstein came to the USA as a child, fleeing Prussia with his Jewish family. Naturalized as Harris Franklin, this hard worker grew up in New York City, moved to Iowa, then brought his new wife and son with him to Deadwood, where he saw lots of potential in gold mining and liquor sales! It was a big risk, spending the last of his cash on buying the Golden Reward Mine outside of town, but he also teamed up with a French immigrant named Ben Baer to found the Franklin and Baer liquor store. These two investments paid off in spades!
Within two years, Franklin & Baer successfully founded the First National Bank of Deadwood and almost founded a rail line to Wyoming. Undaunted by failure, their next project was to complete a luxury hotel that had been stalled for years by lack of funding! And they spared no expense, $100,000 in 1902 being more than three and a half million dollars today! That gave this 80-room hotel fine Greek Revival pillars out front and the most modern amenities inside: electricity, telephones, a buffet, and private baths! The most distinguished guests stayed here, from presidents like Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft, to celebrities like Babe Ruth and Buffalo Bill Cody! Hit hard by the Great Depression, the hotel converted to apartments in the 1930s then returned to being a hotel in the 1980s. How, you ask? Deadwood legalized gambling to fund historic restoration, and the Silverado Gaming Establishment bought and restored the Franklin Hotel as a hotel and casino!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Spend the night at the Silverado Franklin Hotel!
- Volunteer with Deadwood History!
- Donate to Deadwood History!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
709 Main St
Deadwood, SD 57732
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
Whenever the mood strikes you!
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