Gary Gibson, left, and Emily Calhoun uncover a building foundation.

Deadwood’s historic past lies literally just below the surface of this Northern Black Hills town. With an archaeological dig going on this week right next door to our office, we’ve been getting a front-row seat.

The city of Deadwood is putting a big addition on the city Recreation Center, itself a great piece of historic architecture. The $5.7 million project will double the size of the facility.

But like everywhere in Deadwood, archaeologists must conduct a survey whenever the ground is disturbed.

A team of archaeologists from Quality Services Inc. in Rapid City have been working the area of the former tennis court for several days now. They’ve found some interesting things.

John Hatch shows the hand-dug well discovered at the site.

In one corner, they are uncovering the foundation of an 1880s Chinese laundry. In another corner, they have found the foundation of a building that was once a hospital — a term used somewhat loosely in the 1880s.  It was more likely a boarding house with a self-proclaimed doctor.

According to John Hatch, QSI’s principal investigator on the project, the hospital building later became a boarding house — another term used loosely in Deadwood. They have also unearthed a jumble of other building foundations, old coins, pieces of pottery and rusty tools. There is evidence of the old rail yard that once occupied this space.

One of the more interesting finds is an old hand-dug well near the hospital foundation. It’s only about 21/2 feet in diameter. Hatch believes it dates back to the 1880s.

I was struck by how hard and dangerous it must have been to dig that well more than 110 years ago. With barely enough room to swing a short-handled shovel, somebody ventured down into the dirt and darkness — illuminated by nothing but a circle of light far, far above — and scraped the hard earth until he hit water. It’s amazing the whole thing didn’t just cave in on top of him.

And after he got to the bottom, our mysterious digger then carefully lined the walls of the well with tightly packed stones. Those stones are still in place. So are the wooden remnants of what appears to have been a well cover.

Hatch doesn’t know how deep the well is. It has been mostly filled with dirt. “We’ll find out,” he said. The QSI crew will excavate the well, and sift the dirt for artifacts. “There’s got to be some good stuff in there.”

Then what? After the whole site is surveyed, photgraphed and documented, construction crews will move in to excavate the land, and lay the foundation for the rec center addition.

And 120 years from now, some archaeologists will discover a blue Papermate ballpoint pen — I think I lost it when I was there this morning. And they will say, “Wow, this poor guy had to write things down with a pen!”