Long before Custer State Park was around, the land was used by homesteaders and farmers. Today there remains 3 gravesites in the park. Thousands of people drive by these gravesites without even knowing they are there. My husband and I checked them out and made it a mission to find each one since there is not much information on the internet about where and who they are.
Dr. Alvin Herbert
Dr Alvin Herbert lived in what use to be known as the Bakerville area before it became Custer State Park. He at one time was the postmaster and well respected.
To get to this gravesite you need to go about 1/2 mile east of the Prairie Trail trailhead on Wildllife Loop in Custer State Park. Right when you pass the fence, there is a small place you can park. You need to cross the creek to the south ( hard to find a place to do so and no trail ), and follow the fence line. The gravesite is in the field. Be cautious of the creek, and the buffalo who like to roam there. This was the hardest gravesite to find.
If on the Prairie Trail - once you see this sign you can hike down to the grave which is to the northeast of the sign down in the valley.
Looking at the gravesite from a tele-photo lens on the Prairie Trail.
Major James Whitehead’s Gravesite
This is the gravesite of Major James Whitehead who homesteaded in the French Creek area and died in 1899. The bronze marker was placed where the old homestead use to be.
The gravesite is located off Lame Johnny Road right where the Centennial Trail starts. If you look north of where you need to park, the gravesite is just to the northwest of the cabin in the woods. This area use to be called the Bakerville area, long before Custer State Park was established, and this is all that remains.
The cabin located near the gravesite is the original homestead of Whitehead’s. The original structure (middle section) was built in the late 1770’s or 1880’s and the original trusses are similar to what was built as homesteads, back then.
Baby Mann Gravesite
The Baby Mann Gravesite is the grave of a child that died at childbirth June 6, 1902 at the Pluer de Las Ranch. The grave is maintained by the park personal and located in Custer State Park.
The gravesite is located off Wildlife Loop Road/Oak Draw-Cap 3 Road/Lame Johnny-Cap 4 Road and is easy to find.
For more information and tracks on how to get to these locations, go to the website blackhillshikingbikingandmore.com and check it out under Regional Adventures/Cemeteries/gravesites in the hills and look under the 3 different gravesites.