Pactola Lake is on US 385, 11 miles north of Hill City. Beneath the lake is the town of Pactola, first settled in 1875. The settlement was later referred to as Camp Crook, named after General Crook who made his headquarters there while chasing miners out of the Hills in 1876 for the land belonged to the Sioux. It wasn't long before the white man took the land for himself. In early 1877, as many as 300 miners were working the rich placer deposits and the town was renamed Pactola after the ancient Greek placer workings on the river Pactolus. For many years the town was served by the Black Hills & Western Railroad, and was famous both as a mining town and a resort. Downstream from Pactola Lake is an ancient cabin that still marks the area where Pactola and its placers prospered.Submitted by: Henry Chenoweth.