Awards and Honors

The Adams Museum & House, Inc. is proud of our commitment to the communities we serve and the recognition we receive because of this commitment. As is evidenced by these awards, we take great pride in maintaining a consistent level of excellence.

The Adams make 2010 Top 10 Western Museum for the third year in a row

Hundreds of museums celebrate the American West and True West magazine says the Adams Museum & House in Deadwood is "a gem."

That's one of the reasons the Adams Museum is #2 on True West's Top 10 Western Museums of 2010. The New Mexico History Museum of Santa Fe took top honors.

“The Adams Museum & House has been a must-see for 80 years,” says True West Executive Editor Bob Boze Bell. “It offers everything you’d want from a great Western museum. 

True West's award-winning writer, Johnny D. Boggs cited the Adams for its consistent excellence and wide range of special events. And while the museum does honor noted residents like Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and lawman Seth Bullock, it goes beyond the big names. Exhibits also tell the story of mining in the region, and how Jewish and Chinese immigrants played a vital role in the development of Deadwood and the Black Hills.

Adams Museum & House Named a Top 10 Western Museum

The Adams Museum & House has been named one of the top 10 best Western History Museums for 2008 by True West magazine. The Adams Museum & House was ranked at number eight in the article titled "Western Museums We Love" in the May 2008 issue.

True West magazine noted that the Adams Museum provides quality educational programs and exhibits on the history, natural history and art of the Black Hills. The museum hosts a monthly lecture series, musical concerts, dramatic and living history presentations and workshops. Recent exhibits focus on findings from the Chinese archaeological excavations that recently took place in Deadwood; the City of Deadwood’s Wild Bill Hickok collection; and the official naming of a new genus and species of a plesiosaur in a new display featuring the fossils of a marine reptile that swam the shallow seas of this region 95 million years ago.

The Historic Adams House provides excellent educational programs and guided tours on topics related to architecture, historic preservation, stories about the lives of the people who lived in the home and how Deadwood transitioned from a rough and tumble mining camp into a prosperous and technologically rich city.

Deadwood’s Adams Museum featured in Wild West Magazine

The Adams Museum is featured in the April 2008 issue of the Wild West, America’s best selling western history magazine. The article was written by John Rose and is titled "The Past Comes Alive at Deadwood Museum". Rose artfully describes the museum’s collections that celebrate the legendary Black Hills pioneers who get their due at the Adams Museum.

John Rose begins the article by describing the assassination of Wild Bill Hickok in the summer of 1876 and skillfully segues into the arrival of businessman W.E. Adams in 1877. He explores how Adams prospers in the raucous camp by opening the Adams Brothers Banner Grocery and selling supplies to the minors. Rose writes that “Adams would further etch young Deadwood’s turbulent days into the American memory.” Rose notes that W.E. would be proud of the professionalism the staff of the Adams Museum & House exhibits in conveying the story of how Deadwood was transformed from a gold mining camp into a thriving city. Adams built the museum in 1930 to honor his two great loves – his family and his fellow Deadwood pioneers.

Third Emmy Certificate awarded to Deadwood’s Adams Museum

DEADWOOD – The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences once again honored the Adams Museum & House’s director Mary A. Kopco and research curator Jerry L. Bryant  with an Emmy Certificate for the 2006 – 2007 Primetime Emmy Awards. The award is their third Emmy recognition for providing historical research for HBO’s critically acclaimed series Deadwood.

The 2006 – 2007 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards were announced on September 8, 2007. The Deadwood series makeup department under the leadership of John Rizzo received an Emmy for outstanding makeup for a series (non-prosthetic) for the third season episode "I Am Not The Fine Man You Take Me For." Rizzo and colleague Ron Scribner consulted with Mary Kopco and Jerry Bryant during the three seasons that the now cancelled series aired. After winning their second Emmy for makeup, Rizzo recommended that the Adams Museum staff members be recognized for their help. In 2005, Kopco and Bryant received their first Emmy certificate assisting the art department for the second season of Deadwood.

Adams Museum and House, Inc. Awarded National Grant

Deadwood’s Adams Museum and the Historic Adams House have been selected for an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Museums for America grant. The grant, in the amount of $50,153, is for sustaining cultural heritage. These funds will enable the Adams Museum and Historic House to create a fully integrated database system to manage its collections, thus making them more accessible to staff, the public, and researchers.  The project will include upgrading to PastPerfect software, training staff and improving the information recorded in the databases.

PastPerfect is one of the major systems used by top museums in the country. This system will enable public access for internet research of over 45,000 archival documents and artifacts from the AM&H collections and has the ability to link them to other collections and history institutions.

Historic Adams House named 2007 Rand McNally Best of the Road™ Destination

The Historic Adams House has been named a 2007 Rand McNally Best of the Road™ Editor’s Pick destination. The elegant 1892 Queen Anne style Victorian mansion is one of five featured dining locales, shops and attractions selected by Rand McNally editors along the Wide Skies of the West regional road trip from Rapid City to Deadwood, S.D.

This honor comes on the heels of the home’s selection to be included in Christmas at America’s Historic Houses (working title) scheduled to be released in 2009.

The Historic Adams House has been the talk of the town in Deadwood for better than 100 years. Its history begins in the late 19th century, when pioneers Harris and Anna Franklin commissioned an architect to draw plans for their fine home, making it the first of its kind in the once raucous mining camp. Construction was completed in 1893, and the Franklins spent nine years in the house before selling it to their son, Nathan, in 1905, for one dollar. The younger Franklin lived at 22 Van Buren with his family until 1920, when he sold the house to W.E. Adams. Adams spent the last 14 years of his life in the home, five with his first wife Alice, and seven with his young wife, Mary Adams, who would eventually close the house, leaving its contents fully intact. In 1987, ailing Mary Adams Balmat sold the house to Bruce and Rebecca Crosswait of Rapid City. The City of Deadwood acquired the residence in 1992 and the museum-quality restoration commenced in 1998, breathing new life into the historic home and creating yet another chapter in its long history.

Since the Historic Adams House opened as a museum in July 2000, more than 200,000 visitors have had the opportunity to learn about the social, architectural, and restoration history of the home through guided tours. The Historic Adams House restoration is an unparalleled educational resource to help people understand the expense, process, and value of genuine historic preservation.

Adams Museum and House, Inc. Receives Civic Award
Deadwood's Museum honored for Deadwood Fire Department contributions.

At the 2006 Annual Deadwood Firefighters' Banquet, a Friend of Firefighter award was presented to Deadwood's Adams Museum & House. Director Mary Kopco accepted the award on behalf of the Adams Museum & House. The AM&H provided research and photos for the engraving of the Department's Historic Commemorative Rifle and provided a variety of fire related historic artifacts for a display case at the front entry of the Fire Hall.

Local Museum Receives Nod from the Emmys

Mary Kopco, director of Deadwood's Adams Museum & House, Inc., and research curator Jerry Bryant, were honored by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences earlier this month for historical research performed for HBO's® Deadwood series.

Bryant and Kopco provided historical information for the art department to create authentic-looking sets.

Both Ms. Kopco and Mr. Bryant wish to extend their thanks to, and recognition of, Mr. Michael J. Kelly, Assistant Art Director of the Deadwood series. In the words of Mr. Bryant "I have no words to express how pivotally and completely Mike Kelly is for our recognition in this matter. Michael has talked to me about everything from stamp mills to lamp posts...he knows the right questions to ask."

The award was presented in recognition of contribution to the "Emmy Award Winning Achievement for Outstanding Art Direction For A Single-Camera Series". The specific episodes involved are entitled "Requiem For A Gleet," "Complications" and "Childish Things." Presentation was made by Dick Askin, Chairman and CEO of the Academy.

Adams Museum and House, Inc. is a 2005 AASLH Award Winner

The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH), based in Nashville, TN, recently announced Deadwood's Adams Museum & House, Inc. is the recipient of the AASLH Certificate of Commendation for General Excellence. The AASLH Annual Awards Program, now in its 60th year, is the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history. Awards for 2005 represent 87 organizations and individuals throughout the United States.

The awards program was initiated in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history throughout the United States. The AASLH Awards Program not only honors significant achievement in the field of state and local history, but also brings public recognition of the opportunities for small and large organizations, institutions, and programs that make contributions in this arena.

Adams Museum and House Receives Industry Achievement Award
Black Hills’ oldest history museum honored at Black Hills, Badlands & Lakes Association annual meeting.

Deadwood’s Adams Museum & House is the 2005 recipient of the Black Hills, Badlands and Lakes Association’s Special Achievement Award. The award, given annually to recognize the efforts and achievements made in the tourism industry, was presented during the Association’s annual meeting today.

BHB&L Chairman of the Board Gary Brown, in presenting the award to Museum Director Mary Kopco, thanked her and museum staff for their excellence in preserving, exhibiting and publicizing the legacy of the great Black Hills gold rush. Now in its 75th year, the Adams institution is entrusted with a trio of Black Hills historical treasures.

'The Adams Museum chronicles the Black Hills’ tumultuous history with fresh new exhibits and a venue of scholarly seminars and fine arts presentations,' said Brown. 'Even Home Box Office television has come to rely on the museum’s staff and resources to authenticate its depiction of 1876 Deadwood.'

Brown noted that the restored Historic Adams House, visitor center and interpretive tours showcase to the public one of Deadwood’s finest architectural landmarks. And the new Homestake Adams Research and Cultural Center will preserve thousands of artifacts, documents and photos from Homestake Mining Company, which shaped the economy, industry and culture of the northern Black Hills for 126 years.

'Thank you! The care and keeping of Dakota history is in good hands,' Brown said.

Adams Museum and House Wins Governor's Award
Deadwood's Museum Wins 2001 Organizational Award.

The South Dakota State Historical Society is pleased to announce that Deadwood's Adams Museum & House, Inc. is the recipient of this year's Organizational Award.

Initiated in 1989, this award is given annually to the organization whose efforts demonstrate outstanding dedication and commitment to excellence in the sharing and preservation of South Dakota history. As a qualification for this award, the Adams Museum & House has shown itself to be a staunch supporter of South Dakota history, and has performed exemplary service to this cause.

The recipient has received a personalized award and also has their name listed on the Governor's Awards for History display at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre, South Dakota's capital.