Mystic

Photo by James Willmus

Mystic, South Dakota is now a ghost town next to the George S Mickelson Trail and is accessed via the Rochford-Mystic road which runs North from Hill City.  Most towns in the Black Hills were railroad towns, but Mystic had the distinction of being a two railroad town.

Founded in 1895 at the mouth of Pony Gulch where Castle Creek opened into a small meadow, Mystic became one of the busiest small communities in the Black Hills. People had lived in the immediate area since the gold rush days, but it wasn't until 1889 when the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad built their line to Deadwood that the town became connected to the world via railroad. In 1906 the Rapid City, Black Hills and Western Railroad reached Mystic and built a three track interchange yard with the Chicago Burlington and Quincy line, thereby giving Mystic the important status as a stopping point for all trains East, North and South along the two railroads.

Photo by James Willmus

The town was the site of mining and logging experiments.  An ore processing facility was built near Mystic in 1900 and was the first successful electro-cyanide processing operation in the Black Hills.  While the initial trial was a success, it wouldn't be for another year that the plant would be fully operational. Unfortunately, the plant was never run at full capacity for an extended length of time, and so it floundered and shut down in 1913.

Photo by James Willmus

The railroads, however, provided the mainstay for the economy of Mystic.  Both railroads shared a depot and the RCBH&W had a freight house across the three track yard from the Depot.  The Station served both passengers and freight twice daily plus special summer excursions on the shortline. The RCBH&W was in operation until 1947 acting as a bridge route between the Burlington Route in the Black Hills and the Chicago Northwestern in Rapid City.  Because of the railroad, local mines, hotels, camps, and logging operations were profitable enough to keep the town occupied.

Photo by James Willmus

The former Cyanide plant was gutted and converted into the George Frink Sawmill which ran continuously until 1952.  After that date the town began to decline.  Today there is almost no one who lives within Mystic City Limits.  Small communities have sprouted up in the surrounding valleys however so the roads are maintained and Mystic is still on the map.

Photo by James Willmus

Sources:

 "Mystic: Small town, big history." Black Hills Pioneer. December 28, 2012. Accessed October 09, 2017. http://www.bhpioneer.com/opinion/mystic-small-town-big-history/article_f4dc9dba-510f-11e2-b04e-0019bb2963f4.html.

Mystic, Small Town, Big History