Ethan Bennett Farnum (November 10, 1826 – after 1900) was one of the first residents of

Deadwood Deadwood may refer to: Places Canada * Deadwood, Alberta * Deadwood, British Columbia * Deadwood River, a tributary of the Dease River in northern British Columbia United States * Deadwood, California (disambiguation), several communit ...

(then in the

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

) who was not a

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...

prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * ''Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ra ...

; he was the owner of a

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

. He was the first mayor of the town of Deadwood.

Biography

Farnum was born in

Cheshire, Massachusetts Cheshire is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,258 at the 2020 census. History Cheshire was first settled in 1766 and offici ...

, the eldest of seven children of John Farnum (or Farnham), and his wife, Chloe Bennett. On May 11, 1868, he was appointed Postmaster in

Springfield, Walworth County, Wisconsin Springfield is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in the town of Lyons, in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 168. Located just northeast of Lake Geneva, it contains a mere ...

. Farnum came to Deadwood from

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and opened his store in 1876, acquired other Main Street properties, and invested in some of the mining operations such as the Laura Mine and the Prince Oscar Lode; he also partnered with other camp entrepreneurs to have the Deadwood to

Centennial A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

Toll Road constructed to ease the flow of supplies to their businesses. On August 18, 1876, Farnum was elected mayor, winning 672 votes out of 1,139; in this position, he was active in convincing the

to officially recognize the town and establish a nearby Army post, as well as instituting a

pest house A pest house, plague house, pesthouse or fever shed was a type of building used for persons afflicted with communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera, smallpox or typhus. Often used for forcible quarantine, many towns and cities had one ...

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

those with

communicable disease An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

s (a

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infection ...

having struck the town in 1876), and a system of

street cleaning A street sweeper or street cleaner is a person or machine that cleans streets. People have worked in cities as "sanitation workers" since sanitation and waste removal became a priority. A street-sweeping person would use a broom and shovel t ...

, all to be funded out of licensing fees for town businesses. In December 1876, Farnum established the town's

fire department A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organi ...

and sent the town's first

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

, to the mayor of

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Wyoming, most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 reside ...

. His position also included duties as head of the

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

, Justice of the Peace, and judge. He established the town's first school, in November 1876; officiated at the town's first marriage, of Fannie Garrettson to Daniel Brown; and presided over numerous trials. Further records are scarce, due to the great fire of September 26, 1879; when these duties became separate positions from the mayoralty, Farnum ran for Justice of the Peace, but lost. Afterwards, he left for

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

; Farnum is not listed as a town resident in the 1880 census. Who succeeded him directly as mayor is unknown, although

Sol Star Solomon Star (December 20, 1840 – October 10, 1917) was a Jewish American businessman and politician notable as an early resident of the town of Deadwood, South Dakota. Life and career Star was born in Bavaria, Germany, to Jewish parents ...

would eventually be elected to the position, in 1884. In the 1900 Census, Farnum was living in

Maury County, Tennessee Maury County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee, in the Middle Tennessee region. As of the 2020 census, the population was 100,974. Its county seat is Columbia. Maury County is part of the Nashville-Davidson– Murfreesb ...

Personal life

Farnum was married to Mary Farnum. They had three children in 1876 when he arrived in Deadwood: Sylvia, age 16, Edward, age 12, and Lyde, age 2.

In popular culture

Actor

William Sanderson William Sanderson (born January 10, 1944) is a retired American actor. He played J. F. Sebastian in the feature film ''Blade Runner'' (1982), and had regular roles on several television series, playing Larry on ''Newhart'' (1982–1990), E. B ...

portrayed a highly fictionalized E. B. Farnum in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

television series ''

'' (2004–2006) and the 2019 television sequel, '' Deadwood: The Movie''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farnum, E. B. 1826 births People from Cheshire, Massachusetts People from Dakota Territory Mayors of places in South Dakota People from Deadwood, South Dakota Year of death unknown