Adams Museum
Originally called the Adams Memorial Hall Museum, the Adams Museum is the oldest history museum in the Black Hills. Deadwood businessman, civic leader and philanthropist W.E. Adams gave the museum as a gift to the City, to be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike. Ray Ewing, a local architect and later mayor, who began his career as a bellhop at the Franklin Hotel, won a design competition for the museum in 1929. Constructed at a cost of $75,000, it was originally designed with three "front" doors, two of which were eliminated shortly after the museum was built. Today the building is seen not just as a museum but as a period architectural artifact in its own right.

The museum was dedicated on October 4, 1930. The building was filled with dignitaries, well wishers, and flowers. Loudspeakers in the tower broadcast the ceremony to the overflow crowd outside. Governor William J. Bulow, confined to bed by illness, delivered an address over long-distance telephone. At the dedication, Mr. Adams said, "to my friends, to my neighbors, and in memory of the dear ones who have graced my fireside, I offer this as a token of my love for the Black Hills."

Adams donated the museum building to the City of Deadwood, and installed a Board of Trustees responsible for the collections. The first collections were donated by descendants of pioneers and the museum still contains many artifacts associated with pioneer life. Over the years the museum came to be a destination for visitors from across the country. Donations, inquiries, professional interaction, and guests now come from around the world. The Adams Museum boasts outstanding collections of historical and geological artifacts, including the fossil of an entirely new genus and species of plesiosaur; the Thoen Stone; the first railroad engine brought to the Black Hills, the J. B. Haggen; an impressive firearm collection; Native American and Chinese collections; and an important collection of historic photographs. Having long outgrown the original storage areas in the museum, the collections are now housed in several other facilities in the city as well.

In 1989 South Dakota voters reinstated gambling in Deadwood with the provision that gaming tax dollars be dedicated to the town’s historic preservation. This allowed the Adams Museum in the 1990’s to upgrade its infrastructure and hire a professionally trained staff. The Adams Museum entered into a co-stewardship agreement with the City of Deadwood to operate the Adams House as a museum in 1999. The Adams Museum and the Adams House are one organization. A common Board of Directors oversees the Adams Museum & House, Inc.

The Adams Museum embarked on a long-range renovation project in 2001 with the complete remodeling of the lower level. The Verne Haas Family Education center, with its plesiosaur exhibit and one-room school house, and the changing exhibit area now occupy this level. The first floor was renovated in 2002. All exhibits were redesigned and the entire floor reorganized with both national and international visitors in mind, including the new Cabinet of Curiosities and the popular tribute to the legends of Deadwood. Planning is underway for the renovation of the mezzanine level in 2004-05, which, among other exhibits, will feature the exquisite carvings from the John Sogge Collection.

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