Frederik Christian Silkensen was born in Denmark.  At age 27 in 1867 he married Johanna Anderson in the town of Skelby, and within weeks the newlyweds boarded a ship for a voyage to the New World.

By the next year they were in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where Frederick obtained his Naturalization.  In 1871 he was listed in the Sioux City, Iowa directory as a carpenter.  They then lived in Yankton, the capitol of the Dakota Territory for a time before settling in Deadwood in 1877.  

Deadwood was a boom town that sprang up in the pine forests almost overnight.  When a fire consumed the town in 1879 the yellow pine buildings had to be built again.  As a carpenter, Silkenson's skills were in demand for three solid years after his arrival.  But in 1881, after the town was rebuilt, Silkenson may have been looking elsewhere to make his fortune.

This may have been how he came to own the Gayville Export Beer Brewery just outside of Deadwood in the town of Gayville.  In the spring of 1881 he purchased the minority share in the brewery from James Anderson.  The controling partner was Fred Heim, an experienced brewer.  On August 11th of that year he had purchased Heim's partnership.

But Silkensen was overextended.  The hot, beer-drinking months were over and there was less money coming in for debts.  The Brewery went into foreclosure in November, and Frederick Silkensen's reign as a Deadwood brewer was over.

At this Silkensen returned his focus to pinewood and opened a lumberyard in Buffalo Gap.  The company later removed to Hot Springs where it became a very large business.  F. C. Silkenson died on the 15th of April 1908 at age 69.

Frederick Heim was born in Neustadt, Bavaria, Germany.  He emigrated to America in 1864 and found work in Newark, New Jersey.  A few years later he traveled west to a new home in Salt Lake City, Utah.  In 1876 arrived in Deadwood, in the Dakota Territory at age 36.

He was one of the first gold rushers to come to Deadwood and doing so was able to purchase about an acre of prime land in what would become downtown.  In it he installed a garden, a picnic and erected a bandshell and called it Union Park in honor of America's Centennial.  At some point within the year he started a brewery on the land as well.  He ran the Union Park and Brewery until May of 1879 when the value of the real estate became too tempting and he offered the land for sale in the Pioneer-Times.  In September of that year a fire destroyed much of Deadwood and the town had to completely rebuilt.

In April of 1880 Frederick Heim and dairyman James Anderson purchased the Gayville Export Beer Brewery from Nick Pesold and they ran the brewery on the outskirts of Deadwood that summer.  The next year Anderson sold his share to Frederick C. Silkenson.  Silkensen in turn purchased Heim's share on August 11th. But Silkensen had overextended himself and on September 19th the Gayville Export Beer Brewery went into foreclosure due to unpaid debts to former partner Anderson.

The sheriff's sale occurred on the 20th of October and the purchaser was a jeweler named J. H. Heckmann.  Heckmann kept Heim on as Brewmaster and together they ran the brewery for several years.  In 1884 Heckmann's name dropped off the advertisements but it is unknown to me whether that means a change in ownership or simply the ascendance of the reputation of Heim's Beer.  

By 1885 the Heim's Beer was apparenly selling itself.  The brewery existed but it wasn't advertising.  In 1888 it appears Frederick Heim moved to the town of Buffalo Gap, where he left the brewery business and took ownership of a mine.  

Frederick Heim died on February 23rd, 1902 at the age of 61.

The Black Hills Daily Times explains to its readers why the previous day's news was a little light on details.

A fire destroyed more than 300 buildings in Deadwood, Dakota Territory.

The workers of the Deadwood South Dakota Weekly Pioneer-Times were treated to a free sample of Heim & Anderson's Beer.  The gesture paid off with a glowing write up in the newspaper.

The Black Hills Daily Times publishes a business profile of Heim & Anderson's brewery.

The Gayville Brewery in Deadwood South Dakota is sold for debts.

The Deadwood South Dakota Weekly Pioneer Times publishes official notice of the dissolution of partnership between Fred Heim and Frederick C. Silkensen.

J.H. Heckman announces in the Black Hills Daily Times the disposal of his interest in the Gayville Brewery to Frederick Heim.

Prohibition in South Dakota Begins.  On October 4, 1889 The new state of South Dakota's Constitution appeared on the same ballot as statewide Prohibition.  Both items were passed by citizen vote. 39,608 were in favor of Prohibition and 33,456 against. Because the law was unclear as to what was an intoxicating liquor, breweries were allowed to exist.