The Incorporation of Deadwood
From illegal camp to annexed town.
The series is set before and after Deadwood's annexation by the Dakota Territory and charts the camp's growth into a town. In season one the senior members of the community form a municipal government to prepare for future annexation and to bribe the territorial legislature, so that existing titles, claims and properties will be secure.
Quick Facts
- Seasons
- 1-3
- Territory
- Dakota (Yankton)
- Signatories
- Bullock and Swearengen
Lore & Background
In season two Commissioner Hugo Jarry of Yankton tries to persuade Swearengen and Tolliver that Deadwood should become part of Dakota rather than Montana, and ends up siding with Swearengen, who with Bullock, Star and Silas Adams forces him to make concessions so the camp can outbid Montana. After much dealing and double-dealing by Swearengen and Adams, the papers confirming Deadwood's annexation are signed by Bullock and Swearengen with Jarry present. Season three opens with government, law and powerful commercial interests entering the town as it prepares for entry into the territory. Swearengen's central goal throughout is to keep the camp stable so that it can be annexed.
Reader's Guide
Historically, E. B. Farnum was elected Deadwood's first mayor on August 18, 1876, and Lawrence County was created by the territorial legislature in February 1877, when Bullock was appointed its interim sheriff.
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