Rapid City-"The Summer Playground of America"-was founded in 1876 by gold seekers, fueled by a rush to the Black Hills following the Custer Expedition of 1874. Merchants supplying the miners and military units patrolling the region were the ones who ultimately prospered, however. When the railroad arrived a decade later, cattlemen replaced the prospectors, and Rapid City remained a hub of activity. By the end of World War I, the popularity of the...