James was a miner in Spokane. He was murdered. His is the only headstone in the town, which is long abandoned and fallen into decay. I saw his headstone in a video taken by someone who was visiting the site. Spokane is in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
**********
Will be happy to transfer this memorial to any interested relative or other interested person.
**********∼Mr.Shepard was murdered over a mining claim @ the age of 58. These pictures are of his memorial that his grandchildren did for him @ the Spokane Mine in Keystone,S.D.The Spokane is now a ghost town & my husband & I discovered it years ago when we lived in Keystone,S.D. home of Mt.Rushmore. I literally tripped over Mr.Shepard's memorial stone. If someone out there knows anything what so ever about Mr.Shepard & his family,please contact me & I will be more then happy to add any & all information to this memorial that I've done in his honor.
One of the true ghost towns—one that has been abandoned entirely to its ghosts—is Spokane, near Keystone. It was settled in 1890 and the mine there produced lead, zinc, gold, silver, hematite, graphite, beryl, mica, and copper. Today a few buildings and foundations are left. It is located on public property, so visitors are welcome to explore at their own risk. The explorers' mantra applies: "Take only photographs. Leave only footprints."
*NOTE*
If Mr.Shepard is part of your family & you would like for me to transfer him to your loving care, just ask & I will be more then happy to do so.
~ Kesley.Sinclair/Journal Correspondent ~
On the outskirts of the abandoned mining town of Spokane lies the grave of James Fernando Shepard, born in 1850 and died 58 years later. His tombstone tragically reads "murdered over a mining claim." This prospector's eerie fate was not unheard of for miners.
In a forested area just a few miles outside of Custer State Park are the remnants of the old mining town, which includes a school house, homes, old cars, wells so deep you can't see the bottom, a root cellar and a grave.
The rumors of gold in the Black Hills were confirmed during Custer's Expedition in 1874. The gold rush began later that year when word of Custer's findings reached the press. Illegal prospectors flocked to the Hills. The settlers grouped together and hundreds of towns popped up — many of which would later become ghost towns. The Black Hills had been promised to the Lakota people with the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie, but settlers were too busy trying to carve out their piece of the pie to worry about any laws or treaties.
The Spokane Mine was discovered in 1889 by Sylvester Judd more or less by accident. As the story goes, he had placed a rock (likely galena or cerussite) from the outcrop on his wooden stove. He was amazed when he found molten lead coming from the mineral.
The town was formed the same year the mine began operations, in 1890. The Spokane Mine produced silver, galena, beryl, copper, mica, hematite, graphite and zinc. The town and mine were profitable. In 1927, the town's profits reached their peak at $144,742.
The murder of James Shepard, or Jim as he was know to family and friends in Spokane, rocked the community. A local man named Frank Cox had not kept up assessment work on the Spokane Mine, which he himself had "jumped" when it had been neglected by someone else. Jim had enough, and claimed the mine as his own on on June 21, 1908, when he drove his stake at the site. Frank's wife, the Sunday school teacher, observed this while riding to the schoolhouse and informed her husband.
That evening, Jim rode his horse to bring his free-roaming milk cow back to the house. According to his account, when he had his guard down, Frank and his son Henry stepped out from behind some trees. Frank yelled, "You son-of-a-bitch, you have driven your last stake!" and shot Jim with a shotgun. He was able to ride home, where his wife, Jessie, frantically helped him into bed and rode for help.
Then-12-year-old Edgar H. Hoffman remembered the night vividly.
"Mrs. Shepard arrived at our house, uttering the words 'Jim is shot'. Those words have echoed through my mind for half a century. Mrs. Shepard was a tall, dark mountain woman. Her clothes and the saddle were soaked and spotted with blood," he wrote.
A neighbor rode to the nearest doctor, who was 17 miles away in Custer. The night was storming heavily, with pouring rain and the scenery illuminated only by lightning flashes. The next morning, the doctor and sheriff arrived to hear Jim's last words that incriminated Frank and Henry.
The town was shaken by the murder. At Jim's funeral, the crowd was described as "angry and hostile."
"In order to prevent violence, the minister had the congregation point the finger of guilt at whoever they felt had committed the murder. Everyone pointed the finger at the Cox house. From then on, the Coxes were ostracized by the Spokane community and they sent their son away to relatives," wrote Inez Shepard Shafer.
At the later trial of the two men, the evidence was considered unsatisfactory and they were freed.
In July 10, 1909, the Keystone Record stated that the trial was "one of the longest and hardest fought preliminary hearings ever held in Custer County. It was thought at first by friends of Cox that he would have no trouble in proving an alibi, as he was at the Ideal [mine] all day Sunday and slept there that night. This is true, but there was about an hour and a half in the evening he was unable to account for, and about the time the shooting was supposed to have taken place. It is unfortunate for all concerned, and if Cox proves his innocence, and many believe he will, the chances are we will never know who killed James Shepard."
Unfortunately, the profits did not last forever. The mine dried up and was closed in the 1940s. Several companies tried to revive it in the following decade, but nothing panned out. The town was gradually abandoned.
The schoolhouse is still standing. Inside, several layers of wallpaper in pastels and floral designs are peeling at different rates. Boards from the upper level and walls have fallen to the floor.
Cars were also left in Spokane, where they are now just skeletons. If they were in a decent condition, the collection would be worth a small fortune. But weeds are sprouting through the floor, and they are covered in graffiti.
The concrete root cellar is near the treeline and still has rows of storage shelves. It is dark inside, and the back wall has some spooky satanic graffiti.
Walking through the overgrown field in the middle of the town, there are several partially covered wells that would be easy to fall into, or at least injure a leg.
The most intact structure is the manager's house. It has several rooms, a somewhat intact stove, upstairs rooms, and a cellar. This building was likely abandoned last in the later part of the 20th century. A geocache can be found near here.
The remnants of the forgotten town can be found near Custer State Park's northern border off of Forest Service Road 330. There are no markers, just a small gravel area for parking next to the gated path. A sign near the trail says that horse and foot traffic is allowed.
Petras Tutinas is a Rapid City resident who has explored over 80 mines and abandoned towns in the area. He occasionally records videos of his explorations for his YouTube channel, "RealWoodsmen." Tutinas has been to Spokane a dozen times, whether to clear timber or hang out with friends.
"To anyone wishing to explore Spokane, I'd really recommend getting higher up on a mountainside to take in the view. It's situated in a really pretty area, and it can be seen quite well from higher up. You'll want to watch out for metal, boards, and nails if you step off the main path. In addition, there are some test pits that you could fall into and an old well or two. All are easy to spot, but still be on your guard if you go off the path," Tutinas warned.
He particularly enjoys exploring Spokane because it gives a look into the lives of prospectors.
"These towns are a piece of history that is fading away day by day. They tell a story of a way of life that just doesn't exist anymore; how mining was king and how a town could appear overnight at the hint of a lucky strike. The architecture was different, and the people's use and re-use of old tin, cyanide lids, and other mining waste is a tribute to the ingenuity and nose to the grindstone attitude that people had to have to survive back then," said Tutinas. "There's still a lot of history left at Spokane, so let's leave something for the next generation to look upon with wonder and intrigue."
As it has for the better part of a century, this little piece of Black Hills history sits quietly in the forest, slowing decaying with flowers sprouting through the floorboards. Every year, the building further show their age. One of the homes has recently collapsed and in the coming years, it is likely that more will.
~ Kelsey.Sinclar/Journal Correspondent ~
**********
Will be happy to transfer this memorial to any interested relative or other interested person.
**********∼Mr.Shepard was murdered over a mining claim @ the age of 58. These pictures are of his memorial that his grandchildren did for him @ the Spokane Mine in Keystone,S.D.The Spokane is now a ghost town & my husband & I discovered it years ago when we lived in Keystone,S.D. home of Mt.Rushmore. I literally tripped over Mr.Shepard's memorial stone. If someone out there knows anything what so ever about Mr.Shepard & his family,please contact me & I will be more then happy to add any & all information to this memorial that I've done in his honor.
One of the true ghost towns—one that has been abandoned entirely to its ghosts—is Spokane, near Keystone. It was settled in 1890 and the mine there produced lead, zinc, gold, silver, hematite, graphite, beryl, mica, and copper. Today a few buildings and foundations are left. It is located on public property, so visitors are welcome to explore at their own risk. The explorers' mantra applies: "Take only photographs. Leave only footprints."
*NOTE*
If Mr.Shepard is part of your family & you would like for me to transfer him to your loving care, just ask & I will be more then happy to do so.
~ Kesley.Sinclair/Journal Correspondent ~
On the outskirts of the abandoned mining town of Spokane lies the grave of James Fernando Shepard, born in 1850 and died 58 years later. His tombstone tragically reads "murdered over a mining claim." This prospector's eerie fate was not unheard of for miners.
In a forested area just a few miles outside of Custer State Park are the remnants of the old mining town, which includes a school house, homes, old cars, wells so deep you can't see the bottom, a root cellar and a grave.
The rumors of gold in the Black Hills were confirmed during Custer's Expedition in 1874. The gold rush began later that year when word of Custer's findings reached the press. Illegal prospectors flocked to the Hills. The settlers grouped together and hundreds of towns popped up — many of which would later become ghost towns. The Black Hills had been promised to the Lakota people with the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie, but settlers were too busy trying to carve out their piece of the pie to worry about any laws or treaties.
The Spokane Mine was discovered in 1889 by Sylvester Judd more or less by accident. As the story goes, he had placed a rock (likely galena or cerussite) from the outcrop on his wooden stove. He was amazed when he found molten lead coming from the mineral.
The town was formed the same year the mine began operations, in 1890. The Spokane Mine produced silver, galena, beryl, copper, mica, hematite, graphite and zinc. The town and mine were profitable. In 1927, the town's profits reached their peak at $144,742.
The murder of James Shepard, or Jim as he was know to family and friends in Spokane, rocked the community. A local man named Frank Cox had not kept up assessment work on the Spokane Mine, which he himself had "jumped" when it had been neglected by someone else. Jim had enough, and claimed the mine as his own on on June 21, 1908, when he drove his stake at the site. Frank's wife, the Sunday school teacher, observed this while riding to the schoolhouse and informed her husband.
That evening, Jim rode his horse to bring his free-roaming milk cow back to the house. According to his account, when he had his guard down, Frank and his son Henry stepped out from behind some trees. Frank yelled, "You son-of-a-bitch, you have driven your last stake!" and shot Jim with a shotgun. He was able to ride home, where his wife, Jessie, frantically helped him into bed and rode for help.
Then-12-year-old Edgar H. Hoffman remembered the night vividly.
"Mrs. Shepard arrived at our house, uttering the words 'Jim is shot'. Those words have echoed through my mind for half a century. Mrs. Shepard was a tall, dark mountain woman. Her clothes and the saddle were soaked and spotted with blood," he wrote.
A neighbor rode to the nearest doctor, who was 17 miles away in Custer. The night was storming heavily, with pouring rain and the scenery illuminated only by lightning flashes. The next morning, the doctor and sheriff arrived to hear Jim's last words that incriminated Frank and Henry.
The town was shaken by the murder. At Jim's funeral, the crowd was described as "angry and hostile."
"In order to prevent violence, the minister had the congregation point the finger of guilt at whoever they felt had committed the murder. Everyone pointed the finger at the Cox house. From then on, the Coxes were ostracized by the Spokane community and they sent their son away to relatives," wrote Inez Shepard Shafer.
At the later trial of the two men, the evidence was considered unsatisfactory and they were freed.
In July 10, 1909, the Keystone Record stated that the trial was "one of the longest and hardest fought preliminary hearings ever held in Custer County. It was thought at first by friends of Cox that he would have no trouble in proving an alibi, as he was at the Ideal [mine] all day Sunday and slept there that night. This is true, but there was about an hour and a half in the evening he was unable to account for, and about the time the shooting was supposed to have taken place. It is unfortunate for all concerned, and if Cox proves his innocence, and many believe he will, the chances are we will never know who killed James Shepard."
Unfortunately, the profits did not last forever. The mine dried up and was closed in the 1940s. Several companies tried to revive it in the following decade, but nothing panned out. The town was gradually abandoned.
The schoolhouse is still standing. Inside, several layers of wallpaper in pastels and floral designs are peeling at different rates. Boards from the upper level and walls have fallen to the floor.
Cars were also left in Spokane, where they are now just skeletons. If they were in a decent condition, the collection would be worth a small fortune. But weeds are sprouting through the floor, and they are covered in graffiti.
The concrete root cellar is near the treeline and still has rows of storage shelves. It is dark inside, and the back wall has some spooky satanic graffiti.
Walking through the overgrown field in the middle of the town, there are several partially covered wells that would be easy to fall into, or at least injure a leg.
The most intact structure is the manager's house. It has several rooms, a somewhat intact stove, upstairs rooms, and a cellar. This building was likely abandoned last in the later part of the 20th century. A geocache can be found near here.
The remnants of the forgotten town can be found near Custer State Park's northern border off of Forest Service Road 330. There are no markers, just a small gravel area for parking next to the gated path. A sign near the trail says that horse and foot traffic is allowed.
Petras Tutinas is a Rapid City resident who has explored over 80 mines and abandoned towns in the area. He occasionally records videos of his explorations for his YouTube channel, "RealWoodsmen." Tutinas has been to Spokane a dozen times, whether to clear timber or hang out with friends.
"To anyone wishing to explore Spokane, I'd really recommend getting higher up on a mountainside to take in the view. It's situated in a really pretty area, and it can be seen quite well from higher up. You'll want to watch out for metal, boards, and nails if you step off the main path. In addition, there are some test pits that you could fall into and an old well or two. All are easy to spot, but still be on your guard if you go off the path," Tutinas warned.
He particularly enjoys exploring Spokane because it gives a look into the lives of prospectors.
"These towns are a piece of history that is fading away day by day. They tell a story of a way of life that just doesn't exist anymore; how mining was king and how a town could appear overnight at the hint of a lucky strike. The architecture was different, and the people's use and re-use of old tin, cyanide lids, and other mining waste is a tribute to the ingenuity and nose to the grindstone attitude that people had to have to survive back then," said Tutinas. "There's still a lot of history left at Spokane, so let's leave something for the next generation to look upon with wonder and intrigue."
As it has for the better part of a century, this little piece of Black Hills history sits quietly in the forest, slowing decaying with flowers sprouting through the floorboards. Every year, the building further show their age. One of the homes has recently collapsed and in the coming years, it is likely that more will.
~ Kelsey.Sinclar/Journal Correspondent ~
James was a miner in Spokane. He was murdered. His is the only headstone in the town, which is long abandoned and fallen into decay. I saw his headstone in a video taken by someone who was visiting the site. Spokane is in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
**********
Will be happy to transfer this memorial to any interested relative or other interested person.
**********∼Mr.Shepard was murdered over a mining claim @ the age of 58. These pictures are of his memorial that his grandchildren did for him @ the Spokane Mine in Keystone,S.D.The Spokane is now a ghost town & my husband & I discovered it years ago when we lived in Keystone,S.D. home of Mt.Rushmore. I literally tripped over Mr.Shepard's memorial stone. If someone out there knows anything what so ever about Mr.Shepard & his family,please contact me & I will be more then happy to add any & all information to this memorial that I've done in his honor.
One of the true ghost towns—one that has been abandoned entirely to its ghosts—is Spokane, near Keystone. It was settled in 1890 and the mine there produced lead, zinc, gold, silver, hematite, graphite, beryl, mica, and copper. Today a few buildings and foundations are left. It is located on public property, so visitors are welcome to explore at their own risk. The explorers' mantra applies: "Take only photographs. Leave only footprints."
*NOTE*
If Mr.Shepard is part of your family & you would like for me to transfer him to your loving care, just ask & I will be more then happy to do so.
~ Kesley.Sinclair/Journal Correspondent ~
On the outskirts of the abandoned mining town of Spokane lies the grave of James Fernando Shepard, born in 1850 and died 58 years later. His tombstone tragically reads "murdered over a mining claim." This prospector's eerie fate was not unheard of for miners.
In a forested area just a few miles outside of Custer State Park are the remnants of the old mining town, which includes a school house, homes, old cars, wells so deep you can't see the bottom, a root cellar and a grave.
The rumors of gold in the Black Hills were confirmed during Custer's Expedition in 1874. The gold rush began later that year when word of Custer's findings reached the press. Illegal prospectors flocked to the Hills. The settlers grouped together and hundreds of towns popped up — many of which would later become ghost towns. The Black Hills had been promised to the Lakota people with the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie, but settlers were too busy trying to carve out their piece of the pie to worry about any laws or treaties.
The Spokane Mine was discovered in 1889 by Sylvester Judd more or less by accident. As the story goes, he had placed a rock (likely galena or cerussite) from the outcrop on his wooden stove. He was amazed when he found molten lead coming from the mineral.
The town was formed the same year the mine began operations, in 1890. The Spokane Mine produced silver, galena, beryl, copper, mica, hematite, graphite and zinc. The town and mine were profitable. In 1927, the town's profits reached their peak at $144,742.
The murder of James Shepard, or Jim as he was know to family and friends in Spokane, rocked the community. A local man named Frank Cox had not kept up assessment work on the Spokane Mine, which he himself had "jumped" when it had been neglected by someone else. Jim had enough, and claimed the mine as his own on on June 21, 1908, when he drove his stake at the site. Frank's wife, the Sunday school teacher, observed this while riding to the schoolhouse and informed her husband.
That evening, Jim rode his horse to bring his free-roaming milk cow back to the house. According to his account, when he had his guard down, Frank and his son Henry stepped out from behind some trees. Frank yelled, "You son-of-a-bitch, you have driven your last stake!" and shot Jim with a shotgun. He was able to ride home, where his wife, Jessie, frantically helped him into bed and rode for help.
Then-12-year-old Edgar H. Hoffman remembered the night vividly.
"Mrs. Shepard arrived at our house, uttering the words 'Jim is shot'. Those words have echoed through my mind for half a century. Mrs. Shepard was a tall, dark mountain woman. Her clothes and the saddle were soaked and spotted with blood," he wrote.
A neighbor rode to the nearest doctor, who was 17 miles away in Custer. The night was storming heavily, with pouring rain and the scenery illuminated only by lightning flashes. The next morning, the doctor and sheriff arrived to hear Jim's last words that incriminated Frank and Henry.
The town was shaken by the murder. At Jim's funeral, the crowd was described as "angry and hostile."
"In order to prevent violence, the minister had the congregation point the finger of guilt at whoever they felt had committed the murder. Everyone pointed the finger at the Cox house. From then on, the Coxes were ostracized by the Spokane community and they sent their son away to relatives," wrote Inez Shepard Shafer.
At the later trial of the two men, the evidence was considered unsatisfactory and they were freed.
In July 10, 1909, the Keystone Record stated that the trial was "one of the longest and hardest fought preliminary hearings ever held in Custer County. It was thought at first by friends of Cox that he would have no trouble in proving an alibi, as he was at the Ideal [mine] all day Sunday and slept there that night. This is true, but there was about an hour and a half in the evening he was unable to account for, and about the time the shooting was supposed to have taken place. It is unfortunate for all concerned, and if Cox proves his innocence, and many believe he will, the chances are we will never know who killed James Shepard."
Unfortunately, the profits did not last forever. The mine dried up and was closed in the 1940s. Several companies tried to revive it in the following decade, but nothing panned out. The town was gradually abandoned.
The schoolhouse is still standing. Inside, several layers of wallpaper in pastels and floral designs are peeling at different rates. Boards from the upper level and walls have fallen to the floor.
Cars were also left in Spokane, where they are now just skeletons. If they were in a decent condition, the collection would be worth a small fortune. But weeds are sprouting through the floor, and they are covered in graffiti.
The concrete root cellar is near the treeline and still has rows of storage shelves. It is dark inside, and the back wall has some spooky satanic graffiti.
Walking through the overgrown field in the middle of the town, there are several partially covered wells that would be easy to fall into, or at least injure a leg.
The most intact structure is the manager's house. It has several rooms, a somewhat intact stove, upstairs rooms, and a cellar. This building was likely abandoned last in the later part of the 20th century. A geocache can be found near here.
The remnants of the forgotten town can be found near Custer State Park's northern border off of Forest Service Road 330. There are no markers, just a small gravel area for parking next to the gated path. A sign near the trail says that horse and foot traffic is allowed.
Petras Tutinas is a Rapid City resident who has explored over 80 mines and abandoned towns in the area. He occasionally records videos of his explorations for his YouTube channel, "RealWoodsmen." Tutinas has been to Spokane a dozen times, whether to clear timber or hang out with friends.
"To anyone wishing to explore Spokane, I'd really recommend getting higher up on a mountainside to take in the view. It's situated in a really pretty area, and it can be seen quite well from higher up. You'll want to watch out for metal, boards, and nails if you step off the main path. In addition, there are some test pits that you could fall into and an old well or two. All are easy to spot, but still be on your guard if you go off the path," Tutinas warned.
He particularly enjoys exploring Spokane because it gives a look into the lives of prospectors.
"These towns are a piece of history that is fading away day by day. They tell a story of a way of life that just doesn't exist anymore; how mining was king and how a town could appear overnight at the hint of a lucky strike. The architecture was different, and the people's use and re-use of old tin, cyanide lids, and other mining waste is a tribute to the ingenuity and nose to the grindstone attitude that people had to have to survive back then," said Tutinas. "There's still a lot of history left at Spokane, so let's leave something for the next generation to look upon with wonder and intrigue."
As it has for the better part of a century, this little piece of Black Hills history sits quietly in the forest, slowing decaying with flowers sprouting through the floorboards. Every year, the building further show their age. One of the homes has recently collapsed and in the coming years, it is likely that more will.
~ Kelsey.Sinclar/Journal Correspondent ~
**********
Will be happy to transfer this memorial to any interested relative or other interested person.
**********∼Mr.Shepard was murdered over a mining claim @ the age of 58. These pictures are of his memorial that his grandchildren did for him @ the Spokane Mine in Keystone,S.D.The Spokane is now a ghost town & my husband & I discovered it years ago when we lived in Keystone,S.D. home of Mt.Rushmore. I literally tripped over Mr.Shepard's memorial stone. If someone out there knows anything what so ever about Mr.Shepard & his family,please contact me & I will be more then happy to add any & all information to this memorial that I've done in his honor.
One of the true ghost towns—one that has been abandoned entirely to its ghosts—is Spokane, near Keystone. It was settled in 1890 and the mine there produced lead, zinc, gold, silver, hematite, graphite, beryl, mica, and copper. Today a few buildings and foundations are left. It is located on public property, so visitors are welcome to explore at their own risk. The explorers' mantra applies: "Take only photographs. Leave only footprints."
*NOTE*
If Mr.Shepard is part of your family & you would like for me to transfer him to your loving care, just ask & I will be more then happy to do so.
~ Kesley.Sinclair/Journal Correspondent ~
On the outskirts of the abandoned mining town of Spokane lies the grave of James Fernando Shepard, born in 1850 and died 58 years later. His tombstone tragically reads "murdered over a mining claim." This prospector's eerie fate was not unheard of for miners.
In a forested area just a few miles outside of Custer State Park are the remnants of the old mining town, which includes a school house, homes, old cars, wells so deep you can't see the bottom, a root cellar and a grave.
The rumors of gold in the Black Hills were confirmed during Custer's Expedition in 1874. The gold rush began later that year when word of Custer's findings reached the press. Illegal prospectors flocked to the Hills. The settlers grouped together and hundreds of towns popped up — many of which would later become ghost towns. The Black Hills had been promised to the Lakota people with the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie, but settlers were too busy trying to carve out their piece of the pie to worry about any laws or treaties.
The Spokane Mine was discovered in 1889 by Sylvester Judd more or less by accident. As the story goes, he had placed a rock (likely galena or cerussite) from the outcrop on his wooden stove. He was amazed when he found molten lead coming from the mineral.
The town was formed the same year the mine began operations, in 1890. The Spokane Mine produced silver, galena, beryl, copper, mica, hematite, graphite and zinc. The town and mine were profitable. In 1927, the town's profits reached their peak at $144,742.
The murder of James Shepard, or Jim as he was know to family and friends in Spokane, rocked the community. A local man named Frank Cox had not kept up assessment work on the Spokane Mine, which he himself had "jumped" when it had been neglected by someone else. Jim had enough, and claimed the mine as his own on on June 21, 1908, when he drove his stake at the site. Frank's wife, the Sunday school teacher, observed this while riding to the schoolhouse and informed her husband.
That evening, Jim rode his horse to bring his free-roaming milk cow back to the house. According to his account, when he had his guard down, Frank and his son Henry stepped out from behind some trees. Frank yelled, "You son-of-a-bitch, you have driven your last stake!" and shot Jim with a shotgun. He was able to ride home, where his wife, Jessie, frantically helped him into bed and rode for help.
Then-12-year-old Edgar H. Hoffman remembered the night vividly.
"Mrs. Shepard arrived at our house, uttering the words 'Jim is shot'. Those words have echoed through my mind for half a century. Mrs. Shepard was a tall, dark mountain woman. Her clothes and the saddle were soaked and spotted with blood," he wrote.
A neighbor rode to the nearest doctor, who was 17 miles away in Custer. The night was storming heavily, with pouring rain and the scenery illuminated only by lightning flashes. The next morning, the doctor and sheriff arrived to hear Jim's last words that incriminated Frank and Henry.
The town was shaken by the murder. At Jim's funeral, the crowd was described as "angry and hostile."
"In order to prevent violence, the minister had the congregation point the finger of guilt at whoever they felt had committed the murder. Everyone pointed the finger at the Cox house. From then on, the Coxes were ostracized by the Spokane community and they sent their son away to relatives," wrote Inez Shepard Shafer.
At the later trial of the two men, the evidence was considered unsatisfactory and they were freed.
In July 10, 1909, the Keystone Record stated that the trial was "one of the longest and hardest fought preliminary hearings ever held in Custer County. It was thought at first by friends of Cox that he would have no trouble in proving an alibi, as he was at the Ideal [mine] all day Sunday and slept there that night. This is true, but there was about an hour and a half in the evening he was unable to account for, and about the time the shooting was supposed to have taken place. It is unfortunate for all concerned, and if Cox proves his innocence, and many believe he will, the chances are we will never know who killed James Shepard."
Unfortunately, the profits did not last forever. The mine dried up and was closed in the 1940s. Several companies tried to revive it in the following decade, but nothing panned out. The town was gradually abandoned.
The schoolhouse is still standing. Inside, several layers of wallpaper in pastels and floral designs are peeling at different rates. Boards from the upper level and walls have fallen to the floor.
Cars were also left in Spokane, where they are now just skeletons. If they were in a decent condition, the collection would be worth a small fortune. But weeds are sprouting through the floor, and they are covered in graffiti.
The concrete root cellar is near the treeline and still has rows of storage shelves. It is dark inside, and the back wall has some spooky satanic graffiti.
Walking through the overgrown field in the middle of the town, there are several partially covered wells that would be easy to fall into, or at least injure a leg.
The most intact structure is the manager's house. It has several rooms, a somewhat intact stove, upstairs rooms, and a cellar. This building was likely abandoned last in the later part of the 20th century. A geocache can be found near here.
The remnants of the forgotten town can be found near Custer State Park's northern border off of Forest Service Road 330. There are no markers, just a small gravel area for parking next to the gated path. A sign near the trail says that horse and foot traffic is allowed.
Petras Tutinas is a Rapid City resident who has explored over 80 mines and abandoned towns in the area. He occasionally records videos of his explorations for his YouTube channel, "RealWoodsmen." Tutinas has been to Spokane a dozen times, whether to clear timber or hang out with friends.
"To anyone wishing to explore Spokane, I'd really recommend getting higher up on a mountainside to take in the view. It's situated in a really pretty area, and it can be seen quite well from higher up. You'll want to watch out for metal, boards, and nails if you step off the main path. In addition, there are some test pits that you could fall into and an old well or two. All are easy to spot, but still be on your guard if you go off the path," Tutinas warned.
He particularly enjoys exploring Spokane because it gives a look into the lives of prospectors.
"These towns are a piece of history that is fading away day by day. They tell a story of a way of life that just doesn't exist anymore; how mining was king and how a town could appear overnight at the hint of a lucky strike. The architecture was different, and the people's use and re-use of old tin, cyanide lids, and other mining waste is a tribute to the ingenuity and nose to the grindstone attitude that people had to have to survive back then," said Tutinas. "There's still a lot of history left at Spokane, so let's leave something for the next generation to look upon with wonder and intrigue."
As it has for the better part of a century, this little piece of Black Hills history sits quietly in the forest, slowing decaying with flowers sprouting through the floorboards. Every year, the building further show their age. One of the homes has recently collapsed and in the coming years, it is likely that more will.
~ Kelsey.Sinclar/Journal Correspondent ~
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In loving memory from his grandchildren. Murdered over a mining claim.
Gravesite Details
Grave is located in an abandoned town.
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