Redfern is the site of an old

Black Hills Gold Rush The Black Hills Gold Rush took place in Dakota Territory in the United States. It began in 1874 following the Custer Expedition and reached a peak in 1876–77. Rumors and poorly documented reports of gold in the Black Hills go back to the early ...

community. The area is located at the eastern base of Redfern Mountain, 6,076 feet in elevation, in

Pennington County, South Dakota Pennington County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 109,222, making it the second-most populous county in South Dakota. Its county seat is Rapid City. The county was created in 1875, and wa ...

. The mountain and the Redfern townsite is located on the gravel road to Mystic, South Dakota, and is about a mile from the old town site of Tigerville. The Mystic Road is approximately miles from Hill City on the Deerfield Road. Redfern was first established as a Black Hills Gold Rush community in 1876. It was initially named Happy Camp by a group of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

miners who came from the area of Happy Camp in northern California. California Gulch is located about one mile east of Redfern in rugged hills and gullies. Happy Camp (Redfern) was thus located because of the easily accessible terrain and because it was on the stage coach route to Deadwood. After the California gold miners got their gold and left, the Happy Camp area became known as 'Windy Flats'. In 1890, the railroad came through the area, building toward Deadwood and the location was then known as Redfern. George Redfern was the railroad construction boss and he built a siding with water towers at the location and it was named after him. The Redfern area is the center of many gold mines, old habitation locations, and timber camps.

References

{{Pennington County, South Dakota Geography of Pennington County, South Dakota Mining in South Dakota