Today we took a loop drive north of White Sulphur Springs through the Castle Mountains on a forest road and came back to White Sulphur Springs from the south.
Deer along the way
The Castle Mountains district is located in the Castle Mountains southwest of White Sulphur Springs. Following the initial discoveries in the mid-1880s, the area boomed. Prospectors located about 1500 claims, of which 15 to 20 became significant producers of primarily lead and silver, with some copper, gold, manganese and iron. The most important, the Cumberland mine, was the state's largest producer of lead in 1891. High transportation costs cut into mine profits, and the financial panic of 1893 dealt the final blow to the isolated district. Most of the mines closed down, never to reopen. Others produced sporadically on a small scale at least through the 1950s (Roby 1950; Winters 1968; Wolle 1963).
Near the top of the Castle Mountains
The drive took us through the old mining town of Castle.
The best-known resident of Castle Town was most likely Calamity Jane. She came to town to
open a restaurant and lead a lady like existence. She eventually return to Deadwood in the Black Hills where she was welcomed back home and continued to be the Calamity Jane everyone had come to know.
Remaining Castle Town Buildings
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