Seth Bullock

Seth Bullock (born Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada, July 23, 1847 - died September, 1919 Deadwood, South Dakota) was an early resident of Deadwood, South Dakota, on whom the character of the same name in the HBO television series Deadwood is based.

Related Topics:
Amherstburg, Ontario - Canada - July 23 - 1847 - 1919 - Deadwood, South Dakota - HBO - Deadwood

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The details of Bullock's early life are lost. His father, a retired Major in the British Army named George Bullock, was known to be active in politics in Sandwich, Ontario when Bullock was only five years of age. Seth's mother was a Scottish woman named Anna Findley Bullock. Seth was apparently not happy at home, running away to Montana to live temporarily with his older sister at age 16, then leaving home permanently at age 18. It is theorized that his father's military background may have set the tone for an overly strict home, yet also planted the seed for the unbendable sense of morality and duty Bullock displayed in his life.

Related Topics:
Major - British Army - George Bullock - Sandwich, Ontario - Anna Findley Bullock - Montana

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In 1867, Bullock became a resident of Helena, Montana where he had an unsuccessful run for the Territorial Legislature and a successful run for the Territorial Senate, serving in 1871 and 1872 and helping create Yellowstone National Park, and in 1873 was elected Sheriff of Lewis and Clark County. He also became partners around this time with Sol Star in a hardware store. In August, 1876, the partners decided that an untapped market for hardware was available in Deadwood, the site of a gold rush, purchased a lot from Sam Schwartzwald and Henry Beaman, and set up shop there as the "Office of Star and Bullock, Auctioneers and Commission Merchants", first in a tent and then a building.

Related Topics:
1867 - Helena, Montana - 1871 - 1872 - Yellowstone National Park - 1873 - Lewis and Clark County - Sol Star - Hardware store - 1876 - Gold rush - Sam Schwartzwald - Henry Beaman

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Deadwood was, as portrayed in the television show, a lawless rowdy camp; the day after Bullock's arrival, the famed Wild Bill Hickok was shot in the back by the infamous Jack McCall, who was later found not guilty by an impromptu court set up in the camp and released to skip town. This was perhaps the last straw for the more settled town residents; in any event, a demand for law enforcement began, and Bullock's background made him the logical choice for Deadwood's first Sheriff. Bullock took his job seriously, deputizing several equally devoted individuals and tackling the job of civilizing the camp. Despite, or perhaps because of, a reputation for fearlessness and no compromise, Bullock managed the task without ever killing anyone. Bullock met his match, however, in Al Swearengen, proprietor of the notorious Gem Theater, Deadwood's most notable brothel. Swearengen had an innate talent for becoming wealthy from the vices of gambling, alcohol, and the most brutal forms of prostitution, while investing some of the money in invaluable alliances with the wealthy and powerful, so that Bullock's domain literally ended where Swearengen's began, on Main Street in front of the Gem.

Related Topics:
Wild Bill Hickok - Jack McCall - Al Swearengen - Gem Theater - Brothel - Gambling - Alcohol - Prostitution

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Deadwood having attained some stability, Bullock brought his wife Martha Eccles Bullock and daughter to town from her parents' home in Michigan, where they had been living during this period. Contrary to the story in the TV series, Martha was not Bullock's brother's widow, but in fact had been Bullock's childhood sweetheart; the two had been married in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1874. They had one daughter, Margaret, at the time of Martha's arrival in Deadwood, and subsequently had another daughter, Florence, and a son, Stanley. Bullock and Star purchased a ranch where Redwater Creek met the Belle Fource River as the S&B Ranch Company, and Bullock is credited with introducing alfalfa farming to South Dakota in 1881. Bullock became a deputy United States Marshal, continued his interest in local politics, partnered with Star and with Harris Franklin in the Deadwood Flouring Mill, in 1880, where Star was general manager, and invested in mining, the local growth industry, while Martha became prominent in local society. Bullock and Star expanded their business interests to the towns of Spearfish, Sturgis, and Custer.

Related Topics:
Martha Eccles Bullock - Michigan - Salt Lake City, Utah - 1874 - Redwater Creek - Belle Fource River - Alfalfa - 1881 - United States Marshal - Harris Franklin - Deadwood Flouring Mill - 1880 - Mining - Spearfish - Sturgis - Custer

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Bullock met Theodore Roosevelt, then a deputy sheriff from Medora, North Dakota in 1884 while bringing a horse thief known as Crazy Steve into custody on the range, near what would become the town of Belle Fourche. The two quickly became lifelong friends, Roosevelt later saying of Bullock, "Seth Bullock is a true Westerner, the finest type of frontiersman".

Related Topics:
Theodore Roosevelt - Sheriff - Medora, North Dakota - 1884 - Crazy Steve - Belle Fourche

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Bullock and Star contributed further to the economic development of the region by convincing the Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley Railroad to build a track, by offering them 40 acres (162,000 m²) of free right-of-way across their land when a speculator purchased the right of way to Minnesela and demanded a high price from the railroad. The railroad built a station three miles northwest of Minnesela, South Dakota, in 1890, and Bullock and Star were instrumental in founding the town of Belle Fourche there, offering free lots to anyone moving from Minnesela. Belle Fourche became the largest railhead for livestock in the United States, and stole the county seat away from a declining Minnesela.

Related Topics:
Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley Railroad - Minnesela, South Dakota - 1890 - Belle Fourche - Livestock - County seat

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Bullock and Star's hardware store in Deadwood burned down in 1894, and rather than rebuild, they built Deadwood's first hotel on the site, a three story, 64 room luxury hotel with steam heat and indoor bathrooms on each floor, at a cost of $40,000. The Bullock Hotel continues to operate to this day, now incorporating a 24 hour casino.

Related Topics:
1894 - Bullock Hotel - Casino

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Bullock's friendship with Roosevelt naturally led to his becoming a Captain of Troop A in Grigsby's Cowboy Regiment of Roosevelt's Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War; although the troop never left training camp in Louisiana before the end of the war, nevertheless Bullock then became "Captain Bullock". When Roosevelt became Vice President under President McKinley, he appointed Bullock as the first Forest Supervisor of the Black Hills Reserve. After Roosevelt's election to President of the United States, Bullock organized fifty riders, including Tom Mix, to ride in the inaugural parade in 1905. Bullock was then appointed as United States Marshal for South Dakota for the next nine years. After Roosevelt's death in January of 1919, Bullock created a monument to him with the aid of the Black Hill Pioneers, dedicated on July 4, 1919, on Sheep Mountain, renamed Mount Roosevelt.

Related Topics:
Grigsby's Cowboy Regiment - Rough Riders - Spanish-American War - Louisiana - Vice President - President McKinley - Forest Supervisor - Black Hills Reserve - President of the United States - Tom Mix - Inaugural - 1905 - United States Marshal - 1919 - Black Hill Pioneers - July 4 - Sheep Mountain - Mount Roosevelt

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Bullock himself died of cancer shortly thereafter, in September of 1919, in room 211 of his own Bullock Hotel. He is buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood, along with Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, his grave facing Mount Roosevelt.

Related Topics:
Cancer - Mount Moriah Cemetery - Wild Bill Hickok - Calamity Jane - Mount Roosevelt

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