BlockBefore
Photograph of Sitting Bull Crystal Cavern Dance Pavilion
Photograph by 25or6to4, CC BY-SA 4.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Sitting Bull Crystal Cavern Dance Pavilion

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

From the record

“The Sitting Bull Crystal Cavern Dance Pavilion is a historic event venue on the south side of U.S. Highway 16 northeast of Rockerville, South Dakota, near the Sitting Bull Crystal Caverns.”

Wikipedia article Sitting Bull Crystal Cavern Dance Pavilion, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 59 National Register listings published here for Pennington County · listed in 1995 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. US 16 NE of Rockerville, Rockerville, 57702
  • When was it listed? December 1995
  • Category. building
  • Unorganized territory. Mount Rushmore
  • National Register reference number. 95001475 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

292 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 292 fires within 5 miles of Sitting Bull Crystal Cavern Dance Pavilion between 1992 and 2020, burning about 18,601 acres in total. 72 started naturally. 10 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Natural72
Debris and open burning60
Recreation and ceremony56
Missing data/not specified/undetermined51
Power generation/transmission/distribution19
Equipment and vehicle use13
Arson/incendiarism10
Fireworks4
Misuse of fire by a minor3
Smoking2
Other causes1
Firearms and explosives use1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2009Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
8 September 2002Naturalunder an acreBlack Hills National ForestBARETTA
4 September 2001Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreRapid City Fire Department01-3731
4 September 1992Naturalunder an acreBlack Hills National ForestUPPER VICTORIA GULCH
3 September 2011Natural9.2 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionDEATH CORNER
3 September 2008Naturalunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
3 September 2008Naturalunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
29 September 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionARENA

Every fire recorded in Pennington County

Mines and quarries near this property

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Sitting Bull Crystal Cavern Dance Pavilion: 2 producers, 1 prospect. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Silica, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Black Hills Silica Sand Co MineSilicaProspect
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Perli QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Pennington County

Storms near this property

60 of 131 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rockerville, the town this property stands in, in 131 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 116 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind, 2 flood, 2 lightning. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2010HailRockerville$1,000,000Large hail caused severe damage to vehicles on U.S. Highway 16 in the Rockerville area, including smashed windows.
August 2011HailRockerville$500,000Vehicles and buildings were damaged by baseball sized hail.
June 2014HailRockerville$400,000no account filed
June 2014HailRockerville$300,000no account filed
July 2010HailRockerville$300,000no account filed
July 2010HailRockerville$200,000no account filed
May 2013HailRockerville$100,000Hail dented automobiles.
August 2016LightningRockerville$50,000A house on Portrush Road southwest of Rapid City received extensive damage from a lightning-caused fire.
June 2015HailRockerville$50,000no account filed
July 2010HailRockerville$50,000no account filed
July 2010HailRockerville$50,000no account filed
July 2015HailRockerville$20,000no account filed
June 1996HailRockerville$5,000no account filed
June 2015LightningRockerville$2,000no account filed
June 2025Thunderstorm WindRockerville-SD mesonet recorded wind gust.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindRockerville-SD mesonet recorded wind gust.
July 2025HailRockerville-Public submitted report.
July 2025HailRockerville-Report of Nickel to quarter size hail.
July 2025HailRockerville-Public phone call report.
July 2025HailRockerville-Spotter phone call report.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindRockerville-SD Mesonet measured wind gust.
July 2023HailRockerville-Hail larger than golf balls was reported at Reptile Gardens.
August 2021HailRockerville-Hundreds of automobiles and recreational vehicles were damaged from the large hail in the Hart Ranch area.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindRockerville-Branches were broken off pine trees.
July 2016Heavy RainRockerville-Rainfall total of 3.49 inches fell in two and a half hours.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindRockerville-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2015FloodRockerville-Runoff from heavy rain caused flooding along Spring Creek between US Highway 16 and SD Highway 79.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindRockerville-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
June 2012HailRockerville-Quarter sized hail covered US Highway 16 from Bear Country to Catron Boulevard south of Rapid City.
June 2009HailRockerville-Quarter sized hail accumulated several inches deep.
May 2008FloodRockerville-Heavy rain filled basements and flooded yards along Rapid Creek from the fairgrounds in Rapid City to east of Rapid Valley.
September 2000WildfireRockerville-A lightning strike caused a 30 acre blaze near Sheridan Lake. No homes or structures were threatened.
August 2024HailRockerville-no account filed
June 2024HailRockerville-no account filed
June 2024HailRockerville-no account filed
April 2024HailRockerville-no account filed
July 2024HailRockerville-no account filed
July 2023HailRockerville-no account filed
July 2023HailRockerville-no account filed
July 2023HailRockerville-no account filed
July 2023HailRockerville-no account filed
July 2023HailRockerville-no account filed
July 2023HailRockerville-no account filed
August 2023HailRockerville-no account filed
September 2023HailRockerville-no account filed
May 2022HailRockerville-no account filed
August 2021HailRockerville-no account filed
August 2021HailRockerville-no account filed
August 2021HailRockerville-no account filed
July 2020HailRockerville-no account filed
July 2020HailRockerville-no account filed
July 2020HailRockerville-no account filed
July 2020HailRockerville-no account filed
July 2020HailRockerville-no account filed
July 2020HailRockerville-no account filed
July 2020HailRockerville-no account filed
July 2020HailRockerville-no account filed
July 2020HailRockerville-no account filed
July 2020HailRockerville-no account filed
July 2020HailRockerville-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Pennington County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Civilian Conservation Corp Camp F-103.8 miles2004
Chapel in the Hills5.3 miles2012
Black Hills Model Home7.4 miles2004
Keystone Trading Company Store7.5 miles1982
Keystone School7.5 miles1981
Zack Holmes House8.0 miles1982

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 95001475 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Pennington CountyAll 59 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.