The first European explorers to see the Black hills from a distance were Francis and Louis-Joseph Verendrye, traveling along the Missouri River through South Dakota in 1743. The French brothers could see the mountains in the distance, but their Native American guides refused to approach the area, saying that hostile Lokota Indians lived in the area. It wasn’t until 1823 that Jedediah Smith and a group of traders traveled through the Black Hills, but most trappers continued to avoid the area because of the Lakota Indians.

It was gold that that drew miners to the Black Hills and caused the Lakota Indians to be forced out of the area. First discovered in the creek beds of the region, both Deadwood and Whitewood Creeks proved to be rich in placer gold, leading prospectors to search for the source of the gold. Eventually, the Homestake mine was discovered, near Lead, South Dakota in 1876. Until it was shut down in the the year 2002, the Homestake Mine would be responsible for 10% of the worlds production of gold.

Originally called the Six Grandfathers by the Lakota Indians, Mount Rushmore was named after a prominent New York Lawyer in 1885. Work was started on the National Memorial in 1927 and completed in 1941 with no deaths among the workers. Managed by the National Park Service, the memorial covers 1,278 acres  and is 5,725 feet above sea level.

Today, Rapid City is the largest city in the area, although during the Motorcycle Rally, the population of Sturgis dwarfs that of Rapid City and rivals the population of the entire state of South Dakota. Mining activity has gradually declined over the years, and now ranching, tourism and light industry dominate the economy of the Black Hills region.