Lesser-known Legends of the Old West: Al Swearengen

You may have heard the name Al Swearengen from the hit HBO series, “Deadwood.” Al Swearengen was a real individual that lived in Deadwood South Dakota. He is portrayed as a mean, cruel, vile and foul-mouthed man. His portrayal by Ian McShane captures the essence of the man known to be cunning, manipulative, sinful and cynically amoral of all the characters, showing no hesitation in resorting to violence and murder when it serves his business interests

The original Deadwood, a haphazard, anarchic, and lawless camp that sprang up in 1875 after prospectors found gold in a flood-prone creek lined with driftwood,burned to the ground in 1879, but the town quickly reinvented itself, a trick it has managed to pull off several times over the years. “Some people come here thinking they’re going to see a Hollywood set,” says Mary Kopco, director of Deadwood’s Adams Museum & House and adviser to the HBO series. What they find instead is a restored late 19th-century community-the entire town is a registered historic district-complete with a touch of Wild West rowdiness.

Swearengen arrived in Deadwood in May, 1876 and quickly established himself as one of the shrewdest operators in Deadwood. One of the first ones in, he staked out lots as most others staked gold claims. He knew a good saloon in a mining camp was a much better bet. Swearengen was the first non-miner to set up business in Deadwood. A little over a year later on 7 April 1877 he opened the now infamous “Gem Variety Theater.” The Gem Theater soon provided the entertainment starved camp with comedians, singers and dancers, as well as continuing its display of “prize fights.” The theater did in fact have performing artist and skits, however, the theater was mostly a masquerade for its primary purpose as a brothel and bar, which soon gained a reputation for its defilement of the women who were pressed into service there.

The Gem Theater

Swearengen recruited women from the big cities back east by advertising jobs in hotels and promising to make them actresses and singers at his theater. This was a ruse to elicit women into the trade of prostitution by purchasing a one way ticket for the women. When they arrived, the hapless ladies would find themselves stranded with little choice other than to work for the notorious Swearengen or be thrown into the street. Some of these desperate women took their own lives rather than being forced into a position of virtual prostitution’s slavery. Those who stayed were known to sport constant bruises and other injuries.