Midwest — open filings

Open to visit in South Dakota

26 dossiers in South Dakota carry the open to the public filing — the legend is on record and the door, per the last source, is open. Access is a filing, not a guarantee: hours, tickets and seasonality live with the venue. Everything else in the archive stays documented but admired from the legal distance.

26 open dossiers2 counties coveredHotel Alex Johnson — deepest file

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High confidence

Hotel Alex Johnson

Rapid City, South Dakota

Hotel associated with documented cultural history.

3 claims · 2 legends→

High confidence

Historic Adams House

Deadwood, South Dakota

Built in 1892; preservation commission purchased it in 1992 and museum restoration followed in 2000.

3 claims · 1 legend→

Sacred Landscape

Spirit Mound Historic Prairie

Vermillion, South Dakota

Lewis and Clark visited on August 25, 1804. Prairie restoration followed creation of the state park in 2001.

2 claims · 2 legends→

High confidence

Bullock Hotel

Deadwood, South Dakota

Tourism retells stories that an apparition identified as Seth Bullock assists guests and moves objects.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Wind Cave

Hot Springs, South Dakota

The cave that breathes—barometric winds at the natural entrance.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Adams Museum

Deadwood, South Dakota

The 1930 museum—where the town’s dead and artifacts are kept.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Fort Meade

Sturgis, South Dakota

The 1878 cavalry post—where the "Star Spangled Banner" tradition began.

2 claims · 2 legends→

Mount Moriah Cemetery

Deadwood, South Dakota

Cemetery documented in historical or public cultural sources.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Deadwood

Deadwood, South Dakota

The gulch where Wild Bill died—August 2, 1876.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Wounded Knee

Wounded Knee, South Dakota

December 29, 1890—the massacre that ended the Ghost Dance.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Badlands

Interior, South Dakota

The maze of buttes—where the fossils and the dead are preserved.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Broken Boot Mine

Deadwood, South Dakota

The mine tour under Deadwood—the tunnels the miners dug.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Bear Butte

Sturgis, South Dakota

The sacred mountain—where the vision quests still happen.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Fort Randall

Lake Andes, South Dakota

The fort where Sitting Bull was held—the chapel and the ruins.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Devil’s Gulch

Garretson, South Dakota

Local tradition says Jesse James escaped pursuers by jumping his horse across the gorge.

2 claims · 1 legend→

Sica Hollow State Park

Sisseton, South Dakota

Park associated with documented cultural history.

1 claim · 1 legend→

High confidence

LaFramboise Island Nature Area

Pierre, South Dakota

Lewis and Clark recorded this Missouri River island in 1804; altered flows later changed its woodland habitat.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Fairmont Hotel

Deadwood, South Dakota

The 1898 building previously accommodated a brothel, baths and a speakeasy.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Jewel Cave

Custer, South Dakota

The third-longest cave in the world—200+ miles of calcite jewels.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Franklin Hotel

Deadwood, South Dakota

Tourism recounts claims that Harris Franklin appears to check on employees.

1 claim · 1 legend→

Saloon No. 10

Deadwood, South Dakota

Tourism recounts disembodied voices and a self-playing piano.

1 claim · 1 legend→

High confidence

Fort Sisseton Historic State Park

Lake City, South Dakota

Established in 1864 as Fort Wadsworth; surviving barracks and officers’ quarters form a historic park.

Wild Bill Bar

Deadwood, South Dakota

The original saloon where Hickok died in 1876 burned in 1879; the bar interprets its approximate site.

Mammoth Site

Hot Springs, South Dakota

The sinkhole full of mammoths—where the dig still runs.

Evans Plunge

Hot Springs, South Dakota

The 1890 mineral pool—the oldest tourist attraction in the Black Hills.

Rockerville

Rockerville, South Dakota

The 1876 gold camp—where the flume and the ruins stand.

Full South Dakota record → state index· Sleep over → haunted stays· Every open file → the open shelf

Record last amended October 2, 2026