Geography
First Advisor
Rebecca Buller
Date of this Version
4-2024
Citation
A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts
Major: Geography
Under the supervision of Professor Rebecca Buller
Lincoln, Nebraska, April 2024
Abstract
This research focuses on the lives, experiences, and contributions of Deadwood women from 1875 to 1889. This range represents a defining period in Deadwood’s history stretching from its inception to the arrival of the railroad. Through this research, I seek to better understand the women living in a relatively isolated city during the gold rush. While previous research has focused on the city’s most famous women and sex workers of the Badlands, the lives of average citizens have been neglected. This research does not want to ignore the impacts of famous women or sex workers. Instead, this thesis attempts to interweave these women with the larger population to highlight the diversity—specially in race, marital status, and socioeconomic status–that existed. To complete this research, I mined both physical archives and digital collections. Archives I visited for this research include Deadwood’s Homestake Adams Research and Cultural Center (HARCC), Deadwood Public Library’s Centennial Collection, and the Archive at History Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Library of Congress’ digital archive also includes various documents that relate to the research questions investigated within this thesis. With these documents I can place women within the city, and track various social, religious, and educational organizations’ activities to accordingly trace the impacts of women’s activities on the town’s development. By studying these women and their contributions, we can expand our knowledge of Deadwood, and learn more about mining cities in general. This study of Deadwood will contribute feminist geography and help reveal a more complete version of the American West that recognizes the contributions of BIPOC and women.
Advisor: Rebecca Buller
Included in
Community-Based Research Commons, Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Human Geography Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Other Geography Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons, United States History Commons, Women's History Commons, Women's Studies Commons
Comments
Copyright 2024, Jessica Kaye Long. Used by permission