Sturgis locals hide inside century-old Moonshine Gulch saloon

ROCHFORD – Todd and Debbie Proctor don’t even own a motorcycle.

They live along Mystic Road, about 35 miles south of Sturgis, South Dakota.

It’d be a pretty drive, up Rochford Road and north on S.D. Highway 385.

But no way, Todd says. He and Debbie have lived in Mystic since 2021.

“We know better,” he says, speaking for the fellow locals of the Black Hills. “You can’t even drive through Sturgis. We stay right here.”

He holds a beer and hangs out with his buddies at the Moonshine Gulch Saloon, a century-old bar in the unincorporated ghost town of Rochford, South Dakota, south of Sturgis. It’s the only working establishment alongside a convenience store “mall” across the street and Happy Dog Café, owned by Debbie.

Tourists have surely driven through the historic mining town, and Sturgis Motorcycle Rally bikers have been stopping by during their rides through the Hills.

“We just happened upon this,” said Wisconsin rider Robert Nieves.

He’s in town for the 85th annual rally with a few other guys and got stuck in a gnarly hail storm the night before. Driving back from the Boar’s Nest south of Lead, they ran onto the patio of the Moonshine as a refuge from the ride.

“This reminds me of home and has been our favorite place on the whole trip,” Nieves said.

The history of Rochford, South Dakota

Rochford established itself as an official mining district in the late 1870s. It quickly turned a profit from what was then called the Montezuma Gold Mine and a stand-by 60-stamp sawmill producing nearly one million feet of lumber.

But the nostalgia came and went. At its peak, Rochford had a population of 500 with a church and butcher shop, a few saloons and a pool parlor, two hotels, a theater and a drugstore. They even had a couple newspapers and a railroad that ran through it.

After their first resident died in 1904, the town dwindled to less than 50 residents. A century later, about 20 residents held on.  

Yet the dim lights of the Moonshine Gulch Saloon still flicker, and the front door still squeaks with every swing.

“The rally really helps us make it through the year,” says owner Amanda Olson.

She and her husband, Jim, keep the story alive, with their three kids even helping out in the back.

During rally week, Rochford picks up. The community hall next door opens for a home-cooked breakfast, and folks stop into Debbie’s coffee shop to pick up saloon souvenirs.

Olson’s 9-year-old daughter runs a lemonade stand for passersby, and there’s live music outside the front porch daily.

But no wonder the traffic keeps coming. Just this past spring, the state finished up a 10-mile reconstruction project paving the road between Rochford and Deerfield, toward Hill City.

The road passes Deerfield Lake, and Todd says it will soon be “the new scenic loop.”

Remembering long-time owner Betsy

For nearly 50 years, the late Betsy Harn was the one to uphold the saloon’s notoriety.

Beginning in 1977, she hand-pattied each burger and cut every potato, “never spent a dollar on advertising,” and even brought in fawns during the cold winters.

Todd says when he came in from deer hunting, “even if the lights were off,” she’d be in there and welcome you for a drink.

For a while, she didn’t have beer on tap and so would stock coolers on the porch. She didn’t buy liquor but let the locals bring their own and sneak it into the back. Harn died in 2023.

“I don’t remember it ever being closed,” said Ron Conrad.

He’s from Rapid City and has been coming to Rochford “since I was a kid.” He was having a drink at the bar with his son.

“Their chicken wings are great,” he said.

The rally has changed a lot, Conrad said. “It used to be just a Sturgis thing,” but now many small towns in the Black Hills have their own “mini rallies.”

Go to Hill City, he said, or make your way to Hulett, Wyoming, where the town of 300 people brings in 25,000 “old-time” bikers for its annual Ham-N-Jam, a Main Street barbecue during the Wednesday of the rally every year that used to be called “No Panties Wednesday.”

You’ll still find police officers with handlebar mustaches on horseback and free pork sandwiches and beans at the Captain Ron’s Rodeo Bar.

“I mean, go visit Sturgis,” Conrad said, “but then get out of there.”

In 2005, country stars Big and Rich made their way to Rochford to shoot their “Big Time” music video at Moonshine.

There’s photos of Big Kenny and John Rich arm and arm with owner Betsy on the wall today.

“I sing my songs in the sunshine,” the lyrics go. “Captain and cokes and bar room jokes keep me feeling fine.”

It’s a fitting song for the comforting saloon on Rochford Road. There’s a fireplace in the back, claw-foot couches by the window and rocking chairs on the porch to enjoy the “peace and quiet in the wilderness,” said traveling biker Jeremy Garbisch.

Visitors can try to nab the $385 pot for Shake-A-Day or come for the homemade pulled pork sandwiches.

It’s all part of the “Moonshine magic,” owner Olson said.