5th Street building now only a memory

The demolition of the Custer County Sheriff’s building may be the end of an era for many, but memories of the building still live on in the community. Before the building housed the county’s hardest working crew, it was once the chamber of commerce, a gift shop and, more famously, a tourist attraction — the old tramway station which offered rides to the top of Big Rock.

Ralph Kelley has lived in Custer all his life. His father and uncle founded Kelley and Kelley Contractors in the 1940s. Kelley and Kelly Contractors, along with Clell Elwood, Harold Lang and Bud Brown, three local businessmen, were contracted to build a tourist destination offering rides up to Big Rock in 1962.

“They had big plans for the tram,” Kelley said. “Original plans were for the tramway to offer rides from Big Rock in Custer all the way to Mt. Rushmore. At one time, they also had a platform built at the second tower in hopes of building a café as a stop.”

In order to run rides from the ground to the top of Big Rock, three 40-foot steel towers had to be stationed along the ride’s route. The towers were secured by nine 20-foot long bolts drilled into the base 20 feet deep into the rock. Each bolt went out on a taper to properly secure the tower. The bolts had to be tightened just right so the rod would expand in the rock. Then lead grout was poured into the holes to set the bolts in place. The bolts had to set in the mixture for weeks before a jack was threaded through the top of the bolt and thousands of pounds per pressure were applied to the area. The bolts were then left alone for a few more weeks before the process repeated itself once more.

The first tower was built behind the tramway station, the second was across French Creek, halfway between the tramway building and the top of the mountain, and the last tower was installed at the top of the mountain. 

“Bernie Van Der Vorste drilled the holes in the mountain while the rest of us worked on the bolts,” Kelley said. “One time, a drill bit broke and the force threw Bernie off the mountain. He wasn’t seriously hurt, just scratched up. He got right back up and kept on drilling.”

After the towers were constructed, the tramway building was built. The non-insulated building was set in concrete and the steel foundation was about six feet deep. One and five-eighths inch cables were strung from the tramway building to each tower. The gondola, which could hold a handful of people, was run by an engine power source, which converted the hydraulics. The cable was squeezed so the gondola wheel could run along the cable.

The gondola would hang above the building before circling around the roof to load and unload passengers. It would then slowly take passengers for a ride up the mountain.

“We often referred to the gondola as ‘The Tomato’,” Kelley said. “When the tomato reached the highest part of the mountain, it went straight up in the air.”

While the ride may sound dangerous, no passengers were ever injured. The only injuries Kelley could recall were on the job.

“I almost lost my hand on a conveyer belt while pouring concrete to the second floor,” he said.

According to Kelley, another incident that happened during the later construction days is still often told after all these years.

“We were hauling 50-pound sand in the gondolas,” he recalled. “The man in charge of engineering the gondolas was standing on top of one of them, watching it work. Budd Knight, a welder working there at the time, was sitting by an open window watching the process happen.

“The yolk holding the gondola fell — at the most five feet — and landed on the roof. Obviously, the man on top of the gondola lost his footing and fell. Well, Budd saw this and just reached his arm out and caught the man and pulled him inside.”

The tramway ran a couple of summers before being shut down and the parts were sold to a company out of Arizona. Kelley soon went away to school and joined the military.

The building sat empty for a while before becoming a business and later the chamber of commerce, with Bud Test as chamber director. The sheriff’s department became the new owners in 1975.

For Sheriff Rick Wheeler, who has occupied the building since 1995, the building is more than ordinary.

“It’s iconic,” he said. “It’s always been a landmark when travelers come down the hill. I’m going to miss it.”

But Wheeler believes the time has come to move the law enforcement station.

“It’ll be nice to be in the same area with the people you communicate with daily,” he added. “You have to change with the times.”

“I hate to see it torn down,” Phil Lampert said. “If something is in use, I hate to throw it away. I’m sure with some TLC, it could be turned into something retail or historical.”

“It’s a part of Custer,” Kelley said. “It’s a history. The older I get, the more I appreciate the older things.”

According to Kelley, the building has been controversial ever since it was first built, based on the fact that runaway trucks used to speed down 5th Street with no way to stop.

“But then again, it’s progress,” Kelley added. “The town has to grow to stay alive. I just hate to see it grow too much.”

However, as the crews work on tearing up the concrete foundation, Kelley will watch with a smile.

“It’s going to take a whole lot of dynamite, that’s for sure!”