National Register of Historic Places
Chambers Dugout
Belle Fourche vicinity, Butte County, South Dakota
The record
- Listed
- March 19, 2019
- Type
- Building
- Address
- 19003 Rimrock Ranch, Belle Fourche vicinity
- County
- Butte
- State
- South Dakota
- Contributing resources
- 1 building
- Coordinates
- 44.64871, -104.01734
- Reference number
- 100003437
The story
Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com
The Chambers Dugout is a vernacular building near Belle Fourche in Butte County, built around 1885 with no formal style. It was listed in the National Register in 2019 within the Rural Butte and Meade Counties MRA.
Why it's listed
It was listed under criteria A and C, with state level significance in architecture and in exploration and settlement. Its significance spans about 1885 to 1892, reflecting its construction and John Chambers's 1890 patent, and 1900 to 1915, reflecting his 1907 sale to Clifford L. Freeman.
Physical character
Built into a hillside, the dugout has an earth foundation, walls, and roof of corrugated steel and wood plank, with soil banked against them. Other walls are stacked stone, brick, log, and clay tile block, and an interior partition wall of log, clay tile block, and brick holds a shelf. The gabled roof tops paired four-pane windows, one boarded over; a hard-packed dirt floor with a step down between rooms holds bins in the corner.
Historical context
Chambers homesteaded the land under the 1862 Homestead Act. It was mentioned in the Belle Fourche News and Deadwood Pioneer Times in 1938. By the time of its listing it served as a secondary structure, not a single dwelling.