CLAIM TO FAME  –The Black Hills Gold Rush swept into this gulch of dead trees in 1876, bringing with it a torrent of fortune-seekers, including the legendary Wild Bill Hickok, who was shot in the back by Jack McCall during a card game that August.

The return of legalized gambling in 1989 provided Deadwood with a desperately needed face-lift, though at the cost of much historical authenticity.

ACTIVITIES – Tour the opulent Queen Anne-style Adams House; pore over the historical artifacts and displays at the extensive Adams Museum; pan for gold at the Lost Boot Mine. Attend the nightly trial of Jack McCall at the Masonic Temple; pay your respects to Wild Bill and Calamity Jane at Mount Moriah Cemetery.

BELLY UP -At the half museum, half bar, Old Style Saloon #10 (657 Main St.). That’s where Wild Bill Hickok met his end — and now does so again and again, four times daily.

BED DOWN – Try either Deadwood’s first and finest hotel, The Bullock ($130-$230), 633 Main St., Ph. 800-336-1876;  or the 1903 Franklin ($89-$209), 700 Main St., Ph. 605-578-3670.

LOCATION – 42 miles northwest of Rapid City, South Dakota, convenient to Mount Rushmore.

MORE INFO – Deadwood Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, 800-999-1876,