The gold rush towns of Sheridan and Pactola were born in 1875. Today both lie buried in watery graves-at the bottom of the lakes that bear their names.

    None of the Black Hills' lakes existed when the gold rush of 1876 occurred. All are man-made, from spacious Angostura to pint-sized Sylvan Lake. At Pactola and Sheridan lakes the 76ers would be might surprised to learn that their towns are now visited only by scuba divers!

    Rapid City scuba divers Andy Hoffmann, Ray Lucan and Mike Hall have all brought back reports from the bottom of Pactola Lake. They can tell you about following submerged road down from the north boat landing. They know the road leads towards old Pactola...past an underwater bridge...and among tree trunks that haven't yet toppled. They can show other divers an old stone powder house and swim in and out of its doors and windows.

    At depths over 100 feet divers approach the remains of Pactola-mostly just foundations and faintly visible streets. Silt is covering up everything, including a big rock on which names were lovingly carved many years ago. Pactola took its name from the mythical Pactolus, a river with sands of gold. But for a time, it was called "O" Valley, after the beautifully round basin in which it is located. That setting made Pactola the perfect spot for a dam and reservoir.

    Sheridan, like Pactola, was a boom town. At one time it was the temporary Pennington County seat, home of U.S. Land Office, and site of the Black Hills Circuit Court.

    When the gold dwindled, so did both Sheridan and Pactola. A dam was completed at Sheridan in the 1940s. Planners named the new reservoir "Lake of the Pines," but folks preferred to call it Sheridan Lake. A decade later the 220-foot-tall Pactola Dam was completed. Most buildings were moved to higher ground.

    Pactola and Sheridan aren't the only Black Hills lakes to flood historical sites. The waters of Deerfield Lake cover an important campsite of George Custer's 1874 expedition to the Black Hills.

10/01/03