David A. Wolff Black Hills Collection

David A.Wolff was raised in Cheyenne, Wyoming, but the Black Hills were an important part of his upbringing. Several ancestors homesteaded just west of the Hills, and his Wolff grandparents ran a grocery store in Lead. These family connections started his interest in Black Hills History.

After high school, Wolff graduated from pharmacy school and worked as a pharmacist for thirteen years. While pharmacy proved to be a good occupation, he began spending more and more time reading history and exploring the Black Hills. He eventually decided to return to college to further his history education. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wyoming and a PhD, with an emphasis on the American West, from Arizona State University. Black Hills State University hired Wolff in 1998, and over the next seventeen years, he worked as a professor, department chair, and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. During that time, his research and writing focused on the Black Hills, and in the process he collected photos, maps, and other historical documents that make up the David A. Wolff Black Hills Collection. Although Wolff retired in 2015, he continues to examine Black Hills history.

Over the years, Wolff has received a number of awards for his work on behalf of the community, school, and history profession. These include:

The Robinson Lifetime Achievement Award, Governor’s Awards for History, South Dakota State Historical Society, 2023.

Herbert S. Schell Award, Governor’s Awards for History, South Dakota State Historical Society, for best article to appear in Volume 52 of South Dakota History, 2023.

The Herbert Blakley Award for outstanding contributions to local and regional history, West River History Conference, 2023.

Special Service Award, Black Hills State University Alumni Association, 2022.

Cheyenne East High School Hall of Fame, Cheyenne, WY, 2018.

Rodman Paul Award for Outstanding Contributions to Mining History, Mining History Association, 2012.

John Townley Award for the best article in the 2011 Mining History Journal, “Saving a Boomtown: The Reinvention of Deadwood,” Mining History Association.

Distinguished Faculty Member Award, Black Hills State University, 2010.

The Clark Spence Award for a book displaying excellence in mining history for Industrializing the Rockies, Mining History Association, 2005.

Student Senate Outstanding Faculty Member Award, Black Hills State University, 2004-2005.

Community Service Award, Black Hills State University, 2003.

John Townley Award for the best article in the 1995 Mining History Journal, “Mining Ground on the Fringe: The Horseshoe-Mogul Mining Company of the Northern Black Hills,” Mining History Association.

Wyoming Pharmacist of the Year, Wyoming Pharmaceutical Association, 1985.