E. B. Farnum

Ethan Bennett Farnum (November 10, 1826, Cheshire, Massachusetts – c. 1878) was one of the first residents of Deadwood, South Dakota, who was not a miner or prospector; he was the owner of a general store. Farnum was married to Mary Farnum with three children, Sylvia, age 16, Edward, age 12, and Lyde, age 2 when he arrived in Deadwood. He was the first mayor of the town of Deadwood. Farnum came to Deadwood from Wisconsin and opened his store in 1876, acquired other Main Street properties, and invested in some of the mining operations such as the Laura Mine and the Prince Oscar Lode; he also partnered with other camp entrepreneurs to have the Deadwood to Centennial Toll Road constructed to ease the flow of supplies to their...