Deadwood: Comparing The Lead Characters And Their Real World Counterparts
3. George Hearst
Personified as THE villain of the series in the third and final season by Gerald McRaney, George Hearst in both historical accounts and on screen made a name for himself in mining everything from lead to gold. Most notably in the series he exploited the "Comstock Lode" of silver in Nevada. When Hearst got wind of gold being found in the Black Hills he turned his attention there and began buying up claims.
Where history deviates from the show is in Hearst's ruthlessness. Historical accounts don't paint Hearst as the type to resort to nefarious and illegal acts including fraud, terrorism, and even murder to gain ownership of gold deposits. That's not to say he didn't do those things especially since "history is written by the winners."
But, his most villainous act on the show, having Ellsworth murdered to coerce the widow Garrett into selling, couldn't have happened... Ellsworth and Garret didn't exist in real life and were complete works of fiction developed solely for the series.