Known to friends as 'Mahogany Lou,' this former slave became one of the most popular and well-respected women in the Black Hills region.

Lou labored hard to make her way in a sometimes unforgiving boomtown of the west. After working at a variety of hotels and boarding houses, she purchased and operated the Rustic Hotel in Sawpit Gulch- located just down the road from Deadwood, South Dakota, home to the likes of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.

Being a savvy businesswoman, she was able to retire comfortably on a homestead in Rocky Ford Wyoming.