Blacktail was named for the black-tailed deer spotted by a settler near the town site.[2] Blacktail was an early mining camp in which some of the Homestake Mine's mills operated. While the town flourished for a while, it eventually became a ghost town. It was located between Central City and Gayville, and in the area where Blacktail Gulch and Bobtail Gulch meet.[3] The site has an elevation of 4,777 feet (1,456 m).[1]
^Parker, Watson, and Hugh K. Lambert. Black Hills Ghost Towns. First ed. Vol. 1. Chicago, IL: The Swallow Press Incorporated, 1974. 188-91. 1 vols. Print.