Journey Museum visitors learn about Black Hills pioneer towns during "Monumental Memories"

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The Journey Museum is currently hosting its "Monumental Memories" exhibit with a series of speakers touching on important landmarks in the Black Hills.

This month, visitors heard from Dr. David Wolff, a retired professor from Black Hills State University, learning about the founding of towns in the Black Hills, why some survived, and why many died off. Wolff explained that the towns established during the 1876 gold rush serve as monuments of their own, but their survival depended heavily on adaptability.

"The idea is to be flexible to understand what your possibilities are to move forward in the next century," Wolff said, "The towns that have reinvented their economies, like Deadwood, gone through several stages of what its economy has been. Now, it pretty much relies on gaming, tourism to help sustain it."

The "Monumental Memories" exhibit, which was funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, explores how people remember history through local monuments.

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