More than a century ago, tiny towns dotted the Black Hills. Gold had been discovered and thousands would descend on the area looking to strike it rich. Mining camps would grow into full fledged towns, creating an ever growing need for efficient transportation for both travel as well as goods, which created additional towns. But as with many such booms, it wasn’t to last, and as quickly as people flooded into the region, they moved out. Many of the towns that thrived during the boom years would vanish; some with almost no trace.

While a few ghosts towns have left with them some sort of reminder that there was once a bustling town, Runkel is not such a place. Unless you know exactly what you’re looking for, the ghost town of Runkel only appears to be a field. No buildings, no foundations, hardly any clue remains. Yet, in it’s heyday, Runkel, and its founder, George Runkel, played important roles in the Black Hills.

George Runkel’s story began in Wisconsin. His father, George Runkel Sr., had been instrumental in expanding the Chicago and Northwestern Railway from Florence Wisconsin to Crystal Falls Michigan, a town he helped found.

It was by no chance that the railroad would pass near Runkel Sr.’s town. Using his connections in Chicago, Runkel Sr. was able to persuade the Chicago and Northwestern Railway to reroute close to where Crystal Falls would sit.

Runkel Sr. would have a hand in helping not only a new town to flourish, but also was invested in both the lumber and mining industry, where his sons would also gain experience. This experience would prove crucial for George Runkel when he moved to the Black Hills.

The Black Hills
George Runkel would first enter the Black Hills the fall of 1884, as a railroad contractor. His goal was to familiarize himself with the area. He was certain that development would begin around the Black Hills, and he wanted to know the area so he could make intelligent bids for the contracts that would be coming. His initial stay would be short, but it would provide him with enough information to start making plans.

Sometime around 1885, Runkel would return to the Hills, this time with his cousin, Cady Hollister. They made their way to Rapid City, S.D., and established Runkel, Hollister & Co, the C.O.D. Store, or known locally as the new store. Runkel and Hollister would run the store for around a year, and while there were some problems they ran into during the winter of 1885, by the new year, their store was considered a fixture of Rapid City.

But the store would only be a stepping stone. In July of 1886, Runkel and Hollister would sell the C.O.D. Store to a Chas. M Robertson.

The year 1886 would also mark another stepping stone of sorts for Runkel; it was the year of his first legal issues in the Black Hills. In this case, Runkel issued a suit against a C.W. Snowden, who, according to Runkel, was in possession of a rifle that belonged to one of Runkel’s relatives. It would only be the first of many court cases Runkel would experience in the Black Hills.

From the C.O.D. Store, Runkel would get back to his family roots, the railroad and mining. And in that, he would find himself benefiting from one of the most famous mining scams in the Black Hills

Greenwood Mine
In 1882, Bob Flormann began acquiring claims along the Box Elder creek. His goal would soon become clear, to sell a mine for a greatly inflated price. By 1883, the pieces were in place to get the scam going. With the help of Joseph Taylor, the two began promoting the Greenwood mine, with papers quickly picking up the story of the next great gold mine, “one of the greatest of the age.” Local papers would claim that it would prove to be bigger than the Homestake mine.

With the news hitting Chicago, one investor, Matthew Laflin, would be snared by the scam, investing one hundred thousand dollars into the mine, and the Greenwood Gold Mining and Milling Company was born. A 120-stamp mill was constructed, and an open-pit mine was developed in 1884. All the signs were pointing to success, but it wasn’t to be had.

Shortly after the mine opened, it became clear that there was no fortune to be had. In January of 1885, the mine would yield it’s first portions of gold, worth just five dollars. Three thousand tons of ore had been processed up to that point. The news spread like wildfire, and it wouldn’t be long before the mine closed. In steps Runkel.

In 1886, Runkel and A.J. Smoots would begin setting up a large mine themselves, known as the Smoots Group, which included six locations: Atwater, Pelican, Buckshot, Harry, Convention and Candiyohi, which were all near the Greenwood Mine.

At the same time, Runkel was also busy with side ventures. As the Smoots Group was setting up, Runkel was also acquiring the Greenwood Mine, setting up a lumber mill, and attempting to push the railroad through the hills. In short, Runkel was busy.

As with Flormann, the goal of Runkel was to build up the mining area, and then sell it for a profit. With the Greenwood Mine scam fresh in the minds of locals, as well as potential investors, Runkel was able to obtain the mine for very little.

By 1887, the Smoots Group mines were in place, Greenwood was being reopened, a lumber mill was set up and churning out a great amount of wood, and a railroad was being built through a portion of the hills. The Greenwood Mine and the Smoots group would also be connected via railway that same year, which helped increase the value of both.

But Runkel would also begin to find himself in a mess of legal troubles, stemming from the Greenwood Mine. Beginning the year prior, Runkel’s Greenwood Mining Company ran into issues with not paying their employees, and when brought to court, were found guilty of such by default. That was only the beginning though.

In 1887, lawsuits regarding the mine itself started to appear. The first was involved Daniel Miles, that would stretch on for nearly a year. It started with a dispute over a mining shaft that the Greenwood Mining Company drilled. Miles forcibly entered the area of the shaft, but claimed that the land was actually his.

The suit would be granted multiple continuances, and both sides provided evidence of their claims, including testimonies from different land surveyors. In the end, Runkel would win the suit, which would allow the mine to be sold later that year.

As the case with Miles was underway, Runkel would find himself mixed up in another suit, which brought Bob Flormann back into the Greenwood Mine ordeal. And it also showed just how deeply entwined Runkel was with the area.

The Scam of Scams
While Runkel came to the Black Hills in 1884 as a railroad contractor, he also appears to have been open to other business ventures. It was during that first trip that it appears that Runkel met Flormann, and was able to maneuver into the position of superintendent of the Greenwood Gold Mining Company.

After Flormann’s scam was uncovered, and his company went out of business, Runkel was able to come in and purchase the mine for virtually nothing as it was believed that the mine was worthless. However, Runkel would quickly run into problems as he attempted to get the mine back up and running.

As Runkel was working to sort out the Miles land dispute, he also had to settle the matter of who owned the mineral rights of the Greenwood Mine. The patent had been put in Flormann’s name, which put a stop to the work Runkel was pursuing.

Runkel would help get Flormann off the hook for the Greenwood Mining scam, by claiming that Flormann was only acting as an agent for the Greenwood company. This allowed Runkel to make the claim that the mineral rights, and the property, belonged to himself.

While it was clear that there wasn’t gold to be had on the property, other ores of value, including silver, had been discovered. There was also a mass of quality timber on the property, and lumber was in demand around the Hills. What was previously declared worthless land had, under Runkel, became valuable. And it was once again off to Chicago to find buyers.

Runkel would secure buyers for the Greenwood Mine, as well as the Smoots Group. His confidence in the venture, as well as his family connections in Chicago proved to greatly help in that endeavor. But he would go one step further. After the sale of the mines, Runkel would remain involved in the operations of the site by being hired on as the superintendent. Yet, he still had his eyes elsewhere.

Founding of Runkel
Runkel was a man who seemed to never slow down. In 1889, Runkel would make two filings with the land office, one for timber, and the other for a homestead. It wouldn’t be the only land he had in the area, either under his name or another family member’s name, but it would begin the founding of a town under his name.

During the years following the Greenwood Mine, Runkel would work as a superintendent or similar positions at various mines along the Elk Creek, including the Elk Creek Station which was just a few miles away from the future town of Runkel.

At the same time, Runkel was also busy in the lumber business, setting up a new saw mill, while also working to get the railroad to push through the Black Hills. In 1890, everything was beginning to fall in place, but there was one road block; a tolled road.

At a time in which the railroad was finishing up a line from Lead, through Elk Creek Station and Runkel, to Piedmont, another road was being completed up to the Runkel area.

Early in 1890, a road that pass through Tilford, Elk Creek station, and near Runkel was completed. It had been built largely by subscription, with the understanding that it would be a public and free highway, but A.M. Morse had other ideas. As soon as the road was completed, Morse built a gate across the road, and started collecting a toll. Runkel would not have this.

Having an open road was imperative for the work Runkel was pursuing, and nothing was going to stop that. He would go directly to Judge Thomas, and demanded that a restraining order be placed on Morse. As Runkel was used to, the Judge listened, and the road which passed by his home, and the town he was forming, was once again free to travel. With the railroad also passing through his town, within fifty feet of his house, Runkel was set.

Copper had recently been discovered in the area, and mining operations had sprouted up throughout the region as various valuable ores were being mined. While the lure of mining was one factor in Runkel establishing his town, his big enterprise was lumber,

Lumber was in great demand in the Black Hills as not only the railroad demanded it, but the growing towns needed it to expand, or to start. Runkel saw a need, and decided to fill it.

The town of Runkel was settled largely around a saw mill. Those who worked in the mill, for the most part, also lived in the area, which allowed the town to quickly grow.

But Runkel had larger plans. While his town would supply the wood, it was in Lead that it was to be sold, and having arranged for the railroad to pass through his town, shipping the lumber wasn’t a problem.

In 1891, Runkel would set up his first lumber yard in Lead, just opposite the hospital. Runkel would keep the work within his family, by hiring his son to manage the yard. Runkel would quickly expand the enterprise with an additional two large saw mills, all situated along railroad lines. Within a few years, the business would grow so large that a second lumber yard would have to be opened in Lead.

Always the entrepreneur, Runkel would also becoming in charge of the Homestake saw mill in 1892. Over the next decade, Runkel would be a central figure in the lumber market. As his enterprise grew, he would bring in family members to help run the operation, including his brothers and cousins.

Explosion
For the first years of the town of Runkel, and Runkel’s operation of multiple saw mills, things appeared to move forward without a hitch. There were minor accidents, but nothing serious. That would change in 1895, with an explosion that demolished the mill at the town of Runkel.

On March 6th, 1895, a boiler exploded in the town of Runkel. Andy Dillhay and William E. Warren were instantly killed. Three others were injured, and the mill was almost completely wrecked. The explosion was so powerful that pieces of machinery were thrown over three hundred feet.

It would soon be ruled that the explosion was caused through negligence. Warren, who had just recently been hired, allowed the water in the boiler to run low, and decided to refill it with cold water, which set off the explosion.

Rebuilding began the next day, repairing the building, while Runkel was in search of a new boiler and engine. It would take just a week for him to procure a used boiler, and just three weeks later, the town of Runkel was once again bustling. By the next year, a larger boiler would also be bought to add to the work being done in Runkel.

Legal Troubles
The explosion in Runkel would in some ways also signal the downfall of the town. While Runkel would be able to rebuild, mounting legal troubles would find him as well.

In the same year as the explosion, Runkel would be sued by his company’s cook, Ah Sam, a Chinese man who was one among many who put their faith in the legal system in Dakota Territory, which allowed them to actually file complaints against not only fellow Asians, but also whites. From 1895-1897, Runkel’s company had short changed Ah Sam to the sum of $233.89. Runkel was found guilty, and had to pay the wages, plus interest, totaling $262.04.

Additional lawsuits would follow, some making their way all the way up to the state’s Supreme Court. The suits would be brought against Runkel, and centered around claims that Runkel’s company attempted to defraud creditors by temporarily selling equipment to a third party, for it to be returned after a labor issue was settled.

As with Ah Sam, it appears that Runkel had failed to pay his workers, who then sought to attain their wages by selling one of Runkel’s saw mills, known as Camp 5. The buyer of the mill though was a son-in-law of Runkel, and alerted Runkel of what was occurring. The series of suits would make it’s way to the state Supreme Court, and eventually, the series of suits would be found in favor of Runkel. For more than two years, Runkel was involved in these suits, and while he would win in court, the toll seemed to have been too much. That or he found greener pastures.

Town of Runkel Declines
Shortly after Runkel sorted out his legal troubles, he would move to Idaho. The move was of little surprise as in 1898, Runkel and his wife had moved into Lead, and were making business trips out to Idaho. A few members of his family would stay in the area, but would relocate to the larger towns, including Sturgis, Deadwood and Rapid City.

After Runkel moved, and the sawmill shut down, the rest of the businesses at the town of Runkel also began packing up and moving. What was left, would be sold off, leaving only a few residents.

In May of 1899, the sawmill at Runkel would go up for sale, for cheap. The town would continue on for two more decades, as the final residents decided to leave. In 1910, the mail route to Runkel would be discontinued.

By the early 1920s, the last residents had left the area, leaving only a few apple trees behind. The railroad would remain for a bit longer. A portion of the track would be wiped away from a flood in the 1910s. But it was the automobile that dealt the final blow.

With increasing auto traffic, the railroad was becoming obsolete in the Hills. The railroad would operate until March 20, 1930, and was dismantled shortly after. The town of Runkel was truly gone.

Slight Rebirth
Five decades after the railroad left Runkel, a subdivision was being created in the Black Hills, off Vanocker Canyon. It was the Runkle Homesteads. Runkel would get a name change, and a road named after him, suiting for a subdivision built in the region of the town that once bore the correct spelling of his name.

Only seven lots were available, and after just a year, each had been purchased. However, while the name would live on, the story of the town of Runkel, and of its namesake, had largely been forgotten.

There is a lot more that could be said about the Runkel family, who remained in the area for many decades, and played their parts in the growing cities of the Black Hills. The family would also play important parts in many of the areas that they would live, before and after they entered the Hills. But those are stories for another time.