Thoen Stone Monument
The Thoen Stone is a sandstone slab that is three inches thick, measures 10 x 8 inches in height, and dated 1834. It was discovered on Lookout Mountain in the city of Spearfish by Louis Thoen in 1887. The discovery calls into question when the first discovery of gold really occurred. With the discovery of the stone, it means gold was discovered in the Black Hills 40 years before the Custer Expedition which occurred in 1874. According to the stone Ezra Kind and his party traveled to the Black Hills where everyone but Ezra was killed by Native Americans. Ezra inscribed the stone and it was discovered buried several feet below the surface when the Thoen brothers were collecting sandstone. The original stone is on display at the Adams Museum and House in Deadwood. The replica is on the hilltop above Spearfish just east of town.
. The inscription on the front reads:
Came to these hills in 1833 seven of us
DeLacompt
Ezra Kind
G.W. Wood
T. Brown
R. Kent
Wm. King
Indian Crow
All dead but me, Ezra Kind. Killed by ind[ians] beyond the high hill. Got our gold June 1834.
The inscription on the back and reads:
Got all the gold we could carry. Our ponies all got by the Indians. I have lost my gun and nothing to eat and Indians hunting me.
Some people have doubted the stone to be real, but no one has been able to prove it to be a fake.
Parking at the bottom of hill.
Hike to the top of hill looking back down.
First sighting of the stone. Lookout Mountain is in the background.
Went on a dreary, wet day to see the stone.
History of the stone.
Looking to the Northwest.
Looking to the Northeast.
The city of Spearfish is down below.
Located at the Adams Museum in Deadwood.
Is the original stone found.
