Step beyond the typical tourist view of the Black Hills and into a world of forgotten history with Levi Kessler, the founder and driving force behind History Below the Pines. This presentation offers a rare look at chapters of South Dakota's past that remain hidden, entirely guarded by private landowners beneath the towering pines.
Levi and his dedicated group of friends have taken on the crucial, often challenging, mission of documenting the vanishing legacy of the region's earliest boom-and-bust cycle. Unlike history found in public parks, this work uncovers the physical remnants of intense, short-lived settlements: abandoned gold, silver, and tin mines deep underground; the stone foundations of logging camps; and the traces of ghost towns and defunct attractions like a 1915 Beryl Crystal Mine and a forgotten cancer sanatorium.
What makes History Below the Pines unique is its foundation in ethical partnership. Every exploration—and every story shared—is secured with explicit permission and collaboration from the landowners, ensuring the integrity of the research and honoring property rights.
About Levi and History Below the Pines:
Levi Kessler, the founder, historian, explorer, and documentarian behind the respected project, History Below the Pines.
A native of Aberdeen, South Dakota and a resident of Spearfish, Levi along with his group of friends have dedicated themselves to the meticulous, and often difficult, task of preserving local history that exists entirely on private land here in the Black Hills. This is not the history you read about in public park brochures. This is the vanishing legacy of the Black Hills’ earliest boom-and-bust days.
Through their work they have meticulously documented a vast array of sites, ranging from abandoned gold, silver, and tin mines deep in the earth, to the forgotten foundations of logging camps, defunct tourist attractions, and ghost towns that existed for only a brief, intense period. They have documented everything from a 1900s Tin Mine operation to a 1915 Beryl Crystal Mine, to an abandoned Cancer Sanatorium and more. Through there explorations they are ensuring that their fascinating stories of pioneers, miners, and settlers are recorded before they are lost forever.
What truly sets Levi and History Below the Pines apart is the commitment to ethical exploration. History Below The Pines secures explicit written and verbal permission from every single landowner, often partnering with them to research and uncover their property’s own historic narrative. The popular YouTube channel and their regular appearances on platforms like South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Tiktok, Youtube, and other media outlets are not just entertaining—they are a vital public service, saving the history of these private treasures for future generations.
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