Potato Creek Johnny

It seems to be a tradition to give nicknames to just about anyone, but especially to characters that have a unique or excentric way about them. Often, like the case of John Eli Perrett the nickname simply comes from the location where they live or where some event in their life happens. Known as Potato Creek Johnny, John was an American frontiersman and gold miner, best known for having discovered one of the largest gold nuggets ever discovered in the Black Hills in 1929. Born on February 9, 1866 or 1868. His father was Thomas Perrett, but as of this day, his mother’s name remains a mystery. Perrett was born in Abergavenny, Wales. In 1883, the family immigrated to the United States, planning to participate in the gold rush in the Black Hills. They were very focused in their plan. They arrived in New York City, took a train to Sidney, Nebraska, and then took a stagecoach to Central City, South Dakota.

Like most people who headed West in search of the gold, the hunt didn’t start immediately for Perrett, who initially worked various jobs in the area, including as a wrangler at Dorsett Ranch. Then he started panning for gold with other prospectors in streams and rivers. Finally, he chose to file a claim on Potato Creek, a tributary of Spearfish Creek. It was here that he got his nickname. Potato Creek Johnny later began working in the pumphouse of the local tin mine but became unemployed after the mine closed in January 1929. After that, he resumed prospecting in Potato Creek.

Potato Creek Johnny wasn’t a big man, standing only 4’3″ tall, but on May 27, 1929, he managed to “hit big” when he found the largest gold nugget ever discovered in the Black Hills. The nugget, measuring 228.5 grams, which was in the shape of a leg. It was big news, and very valuable. In 1934, local businessman W E Adams bought the nugget from Johnny for $250, which would be valued at $5,888 in 2025. Adams put the nugget on display in the Adams Museum, but due to theft concerns, the original nugget was removed and placed in a safe deposit box. It was replaced with a replica, so people could at least see how big it was. In 2014, a secure case was installed in the museum so the original could be placed on permanent display.

Of course, as with any unique find, there were skeptics, so the authenticity of Potato Creek Johnny’s gold nugget has been the subject of debate. Some of the local residents suspected that Johnny had created the nugget by melting down smaller quantities of gold into one piece, and some even accused him of having stolen the gold to do so. Nevertheless, analysis of the nugget by various gold experts have determined the nugget is likely to be authentic, due to the presence of natural quartz crystals inside.

As for Johnny, he became a local folk hero. He grew out his hair and beard and dressed in old clothing, capitalizing on the stereotypical appearance of a 19th-century placer miner. He participated in tourism efforts, being made an “ambassador by the Deadwood Chamber of Commerce and became a feature of Deadwood’s Days of ’76 celebrations” in subsequent years. In 1939, Life magazine picked up on him and did a feature article on him. On March 13, 1907, Johnny married Molly Hamilton of Belle Fourche, South Dakota. Unfortunately, they had no children and divorced in September 1928. Potato Creek Johnny died on February 26, 1943, at the age of about 77, after a two-week illness. His funeral procession on March 3 passed by the Adams Museum, and a bell tolled 77 years, once for each year of his life. He is buried next to Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood.