Seth Bullock was the first sheriff of Deadwood, South Dakota. He first met Theodore Roosevelt in 1892, while the future president was traveling through the Dakotas. They developed a close friendship over the years: Bullock fought in the Spanish-American War and helped campaign for Roosevelt in the presidential election of 1900.

After Roosevelt died in 1919, Bullock saw that his friend was honored in Deadwood. He worked with the Society of Black Hills Pioneers to change the name of Sheep Mountain to Mount Theodore Roosevelt. Bullock also arranged for a stone tower to be built, which has come to be known as “Friendship Tower.”