Timeline July 1874

Events in July 1874 2

• 1874 Custer's Black Hills Expedition confirms gold Military expedition finds gold on Lakota treaty land An expedition led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer explored the Black Hills of Dakota Territory, land guaranteed to the Lakota Sioux by treaty. Expedition geologists confirmed the presence of gold, and news of the find triggered a rush of prospectors into Sioux territory. The resulting treaty violations were a major cause of the Great Sioux War of 1876.
• 1874 Eads Bridge opens First major bridge across the lower Mississippi River The Eads Bridge, designed by engineer James Buchanan Eads, opened at St. Louis as the first bridge to cross the Mississippi River south of the Missouri confluence. It was among the earliest large-scale uses of steel as a primary structural material and pioneered pneumatic caisson foundations. The bridge remains in use for road and rail traffic today.