“When Albert Rites went out to mow his lawn, the last thing he expected was that the ground would cave beneath him. It turns out Albert and the rest of his neighbors were living on top of a sinkhole. Even more surprising was what the hole led to underground. But before we start, make sure to subscribe if you haven’t and hit that notification bell so that you won’t miss any new stories.
It was a day like any other in Blackhawk, South Dakota. Resident Albert Rits was out mowing his lawn like he had so many times before. Then something happened that changed everything. The man felt something strange underfoot. The 56-year-old man carefully turned around to see what could be going on. When Albert turned around, he could hardly believe his eyes. Only a foot behind him was the beginning of a giant sinkhole that had caved out of nowhere.
The man admitted to being terrified in that moment. What does one do when their property collapses into a sinkhole? What Albert did was bolt to the neighbor’s house. He knocked on the door of John Trudeau, who had also been experiencing some unusual happenings. John had already suspected something was amiss that morning because the faucet had suddenly stopped working. Albert’s story was enough to make this an official emergency. John’s wife hurriedly called 911.
As it turns out, they weren’t the only neighbors impacted. When the authorities arrived, they moved quickly to get everyone to safety. This meant evaluating the sinkhole and quickly moving out people who were within an unsafe range. That’s when they discovered that the sinkhole near Albert’s home wasn’t the only one. Another sinkhole appeared right across the street. Right away, six families were evacuated. That number would double once the experts determined the cause of the sinkholes.
But finding that answer didn’t require officers. It required cavers. When caver Adam Weaver heard about what had happened to the neighborhood, he volunteered to check it out. Adam is a part of Paha Sapa Grot, a subchapter of the National Speleological Society, AKA people who study caves. When he arrived with his team, they soon discovered that they were in over their heads. When Adam and the rest of the Paha Sapa Grot team inched their way into the sinkhole, they quickly realized that it wasn’t at all what they expected. They came to find out that the hole led to an abandoned gypsum mine.
The mine was more than 600 ft long and still had drilling holes and mining gear in it. Even though Adam knew that there was a lot of gypsum in the area, it never dawned on him that there might be an abandoned mine down there. It probably escaped his awareness because the mine was decades old. It had first opened in the 1920s and it closed three decades later. Still, there remained old items such as a mining hand cart. They also found bones which Adam’s wife, a paleontologist, confirmed belonged to a calf.
Even though Adam is the vice president of the National Speleological Society, he was hesitant to continue exploring once he realized it was a mine. The crew at Paha Sapa Grot carefully made their way further into the mine, making incredible discoveries along the way. They could still see the old rail car tracks that were used when the mine was still operable. As interesting as all of the findings the team was making were, they were also items to be expected in an abandoned mine: old tools, animal remains, deteriorating wood. Then they spotted something that made everyone stop in their tracks.
There was a car hanging down from the top of the mine. It was wedged between rocks and appeared to have fallen into a hole from the surface. However, this wasn’t a newer car. The vehicle was actually a 1954 Ford Crestline Sunliner. The group was amazed to see such a thing in the mine and started speculating about what happened. By everyday standards, the car looks like it came out of a junkyard. Still, Adam notes that it’s in super good shape given what it’s been through.
That brings up the question: What exactly has the vehicle been through? The team conjured up two possibilities regarding how the Ford got there. The first is that the car fell into the mine after it had closed due to a sinkhole. The second is that it had been there the whole time. It could have belonged to one of the workers and ended up getting trapped in the mine. The Ford’s origin story will likely remain a mystery since Adam thinks it probably won’t ever come out.
Finding the 1954 Ford Crestline Sunliner was a big surprise for the entire group. Adam told Hagard that the experience was amazing. Even more amazing though was what they found next. As though one vehicle wasn’t jarring enough, the team ended up stumbling upon another one. Adam confirmed that there was also a truck in the mine, adding that it was even older than the car.
As incredible as the group’s findings were, they had to get down to business and accomplish what they went there to do: map the mine. They measured 2300 linear feet of passages, and that’s just where they were able to reach. There were still other tunnels that had collapsed or flooded and therefore couldn’t be mapped. They also found some tunnels to be upwards of 40 ft wide. The ceilings ranged from 12 to 30 ft tall.
That’s where Doug Huntrods came in, the emergency manager from Meade County where Blackhawk is located. At a press conference, Doug revealed that the Dakota Plaster Company had owned the mine. This makes perfect sense considering that gypsum is commonly used in plaster. Additionally, the Rapid City Journal found in their archives that they’d covered the Dakota Plaster Plant opening back in 1910.
As fascinating as the gypsum mine is, the finding is bittersweet for those whose homes are now at risk due to safety hazards. A total of 12 families were displaced due to the sinkholes, totaling between 30 and 35 individuals. John Trudeau, the neighbor who Albert Rites ran to when his lawn caved in, brought up a question that many of the neighbors are likely pondering: Did the developers know and turn a blind eye?
The question of who is responsible is especially crucial since insurance companies are refusing to cover the damage or to pay for the cost of the lost home. Both John and Albert reported that this was the case for their insurance companies, who simply told them that their policies don’t cover underground sinkholes. As a result, many of the displaced families have turned to GoFundMe to try and raise money to at least help make ends meet for the time being. However, these discouraged residents have still included county officials in their lawsuit.
That’s because public records indicate the Meade County planning board knew of the mine’s existence when they approved the neighborhood development. The lawsuit is also aimed at the state, real estate agents, and developers, all of whom should have been made aware of the dangers the mine not only posed for the neighborhood but also for a nearby interstate. As a result, engineers had to inspect I90 to ensure that there wasn’t a threat of sinkholes near the highway.
After inspecting 1,500 ft of the road and 60 ft underneath, the experts confirmed that the road is safe from the underground mine.”
