Jhon A. Nye

This man is the one that is recognized by every one of the pioneers of this country , as well as Colorado and many other of the different mining camps of the Pacific slop. It is a name that is synonymous with energy, enterprise and fair dealing, and all men who know John Nye, know him for a man that nothing can discourage. Amongst the first to come to Deadwood, and since that time he has been identified with Deadwood, first, last and all the time. At the end of the great Deadwood fire his entire means were invested into the city and buildings of Deadwood, SD, that without a dollar of insurance, went up in smoke. At the time he was in the east on a visit, and supposed that his days of trial was over and he could retire from the active pursuits of business life, and spent the remainder of his days in affluence, quietness and peace.

The never to be forgotten 26th of September came and dispelled the illusion and when he next returned to Deadwood he was greeted by piles of charred debris. He went back to work to reclaim his fortune, restoring all the buildings in Deadwood. The lot on the corner of Gold and Main Street, that at the time of the fire was covered with a two story frame building, was the last one on which he started to rebuild, and on that lot he is erecting the finest building in the city of Deadwood.25x100 Feet, two stories, on a twelve foot basement, that is so high and so well lighted from the Gold Street side, that it would be the first basement ever built in Deadwood that could be used for business purposes. The building had arrived at the point to set the corner stone, everyone in Deadwood came to see John Nye lay his corner stone. Under the corner stone was laid every newspaper from that time, along with John Nye's autobiography with an early history of Deadwood.