Mystic Ghost Town

In 1876, a small mining camp was established on Castle Creek called "Sitting Bull." By 1879, it had about 100 residents, but miners soon spread north to more prosperous claims at Deadwood and Lead. When the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad built the first tracks in the Black Hills and created a station here, the town was renamed Mystic. The Mystic Reduction Mill followed in 1900, and in 1906 the Crouch Line — a hair-raising 34-mile railroad making 14 complete circles and crossing 100 bridges — made Mystic its western terminal. During the Great Depression, Mystic hosted the highest Civilian Conservation Corps camp in the Black Hills. The CCC workers planted over 1.5 million trees by November 1937. In 1927, President Calvin Coolidge visited during his Black Hills tour. A sawmill kept the town alive until 1952. The Mystic Townsite District was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 and includes 14 buildings. Today a trailhead here provides access to the George S. Mickelson Trail.