This Gas Station in SD has been Open Since 1923

Spearfish Filling Station, Spearfish South Dakota

Date added: August 31, 2024

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Spearfish Filling Station was the first service station in Spearfish. Since its construction in 1923, it has continually provided goods and services to area automobile travelers.

Spearfish was founded in 1876 in response to the emerging gold rush in the Black Hills. It immediately served as a support community for the area mines and surrounding ranches. Eventually, it grew to support one of the largest trade areas in the Black Hills. In the 1890s, interest in tourism in the region took root alongside the fluctuating mining and lumbering industries. By the 1920s, tourism was fast becoming a major source of income for Black Hills residents. The advent and ever-increasing use of the automobile was a prime element in that development.

In 1916, the State of South Dakota lifted a constitutional ban on public construction of highways, and in the following year, the so-called "Good Roads Law" was enacted. Also, in 1916, the federal government started work on an interstate system of paved roads. The decade of the twenties saw vast construction of roads and bridges throughout the state, and private parties also saw the need to enter the automobile service field.

In 1923, Alfred J. Sleep, a prominent Spearfish-area rancher and businessman, built the first such facility in the community, the Spearfish Filling Station. In 1927, he added the back service bays to the building. He continued to operate the station until his death in 1957. Under new management, it continues to serve the needs of the community. The present owner intends to restore the projecting canopy.

Building Description

The Spearfish Service Station is a detached one-story rectangular-plan building with an angular bay toward the pumps. The structure is divided into five bays having an angled office bay, a shop bay and three car bays. The walls are painted brick in a common bond pattern with recessed brick areas at the windows and doors. Each of the bays has a concrete lintel over each of the doors or windows. The structure sits on a concrete foundation. A wood-shingle hip roof covers most of the station, with a gable end at the angular main entrance. There is a wood cupola on the roof where the original brick chimney was located. A metal flashing and cricket connect the station and the adjacent building to keep the water off of the brick in the small space between the two buildings. The original roof at the angular bay projected out over the gas pumps as a hip roof. There is structural clay tile at the north and east sides.

Originally, the structure was not painted and there were different window or door patterns in some of the recessed brick bays. The west bay has a wood paneled door with small lights and a transom above and a large wood frame fixed window. Originally this bay had three wood double-hung windows. The entrance door bay has a wood-paneled door with small lights and two large fixed windows. Originally there was a paneled door to the left and double-hung windows. On the south side the first bay had a double-hung window which is now bricked in. The second bay appears to have an original window with 6/3/3 lights.

The east three bays have had new doors added over the years. The changes do not alter the overall feeling of the recessed bays since the changes are accomplished within the bays and are compatible with the structure.

The interior of the structure has been retained in plan with an office area and large service area. The only addition has been a bathroom in the office area.

The structure is in good condition with some minor spalling of brick at the base of the structure.

The Spearfish Service Station sits on the northeast corner of Main Street and Illinois Street. A concrete apron surrounds the structure and there are new gas pumps with lights above them at the corner.