Tinton Ghost Town

Tinton is tucked in the rugged recesses of Spearfish Canyon, 13 miles due east of Deadwood. Edgar St. John discovered ore there during the mid-1870s Black Hills Gold Rush, and rich silver diggings became Tinton's lifeblood for the next two decades before miners unearthed plentiful tin, tantalite, and feldspar deposits. The Tinton Tin Mining Company built Tinton between 1902 and 1904, with a bank, general store, post office, grade school, newspaper, and boarding house. The town park was named after Theodore Roosevelt, who visited with his friend Seth Bullock in 1903. By 1950 only fourteen residents remained. In 1953 the mill burned down and the last resident left in 1959. Today Tinton boasts more standing buildings than any other South Dakota ghost town — schoolhouse, root cellar, old vehicles, and numerous structures still visible from the road. Tinton Enterprises owns the land and bars trespassing — written permission is required to enter. Access via Tinton Road off McGuigan Road from I-90 Exit 8. High-clearance vehicle strongly recommended.