Blackwater

"I found out why this town's called Blackwater, and it ain't nice."

- Milford Weaver

Blackwater is a settlement featured in Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2 in the Great Plains region of the West Elizabeth territory.

Description
Blackwater is an industrialized settlement and is the largest and most modern town in Red Dead Redemption, serving the area as a thriving port on Flat Iron Lake. The town was established by Josiah Blackwater. It features cobbled streets with gas streetlamps, the earliest mass-produced automobiles, and telephone poles. The city has also been the site of a bloody gunfight dubbed "The Blackwater Massacre" of 1899. The massacre involved the Van der Linde gang, the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, and Landon Ricketts, who was a known survivor of the incident.

The town is home to a fairly diverse population and variety in neighborhoods. At the south of Blackwater, the town is less developed, with older buildings, slum houses, a couple of industrial properties and even a few plots of farmland. In contrast, the north of the town is not only home to Blackwater Plaza, the root of the city's economy and the state's government, but also fancy businesses and hotels, and one road leading out of the city (towards the chapel) populated with larger homes for the wealthiest residents of Blackwater.

In terms of population, there is a wide variety in terms of wealth and ethnicity. A majority of the population is of Caucasian origin, however, a significant amount of ethnic minorities, including Chinese and African-Americans, reside in the town. In terms of wealth, the city has populations of the wealthy (mainly concentrated towards the north) and poor (mainly located in the south) but also has a noticeable middle-class population.

The town is the biggest example of the modernization of the west, with new technology (most notably automobiles) coming into prominence. It represents the big city life in which many families opted for in the early-1900s as the West was becoming more and more industrialized.

Chapel
A chapel, surrounded by a large cemetery, is found on the hill overlooking Blackwater, situated on the outskirts of the town.

The chapel and cemetery feature in various missions and game modes as noted in the "Appearances" sections that follow.

Streets
Blackwater is the only town in Red Dead Redemption with notable street names. Most of the streets are cobbled and the ones leading out of town turn from paved to dirt.

The names of the streets are:
 * Main Street
 * Wapiti Avenue
 * Tallulah Place
 * Quayside Road
 * Van Horn Street
 * Sisika Avenue
 * Wakhanknee Drive (starts at the end of Sisika Avenue)

Police
Compared to other settlements in the game, Blackwater features a more modern, structured law enforcement system, complete with a uniformed police unit and modern ranks. The Blackwater Police Department is by far the most effective law enforcement system in the game, with modern weaponry, large numbers of men and superior tactics, meaning that any hostile attacker or wrongdoer in the town will face severe opposition.

Red Dead Redemption 2
Blackwater is the site of a botched ferry robbery orchestrated by Dutch van der Linde and his gang. It resulted in the death of a passenger, Heidi McCourt, a number of lawmen, and the capture of two men, the latter of whom died in custody after sustaining gunshot wounds. After the event, Pinkerton agents swarm the town to apprehend or kill the Van der Linde gang.

With the exception of Red Dead Online, it is unavailable for exploration until later in the game after the Van der Linde gang has been disbanded in 1899. Entering the town as Arthur Morgan will result in an automatic wanted level and police pursuit which can be fatal for Morgan.

In 1907, John Marston, a surviving Van der Linde gang and former outlaw, would later visit the area to buy a plot of land nearby. He would also later meet his former colleague Sadie Adler, a bounty hunter, to work on a job for her capturing a bounty out in New Austin.

The town itself is missing a few buildings that haven't been completely constructed yet, such as the train tracks or the bank. During Red Dead Online, it can be explored in 1898.

Red Dead Redemption 2

 * West Elizabeth Co-Operative Bank
 * Barber, Wilton's Barber Shop
 * Butcher, eastern-most building
 * General Store, operated by S. M. Neely
 * Blackwater Hotel
 * Newspaper Seller, outside the Blackwater Saloon
 * Photography Studio
 * Post Office at the Union Freight Depot
 * Blackwater Saloon
 * Stable, the B. R. Shelton Livery & Stable
 * Stagecoach
 * Tailor, owned and operated by E.H. Kretzschmar
 * Imperial Theatre and Blackwater Grand Theatre
 * Small Blackwater Police Department (the new building is not finished yet.)

Red Dead Redemption

 * First National Bank, operated by Harmon Weinstein.
 * Blackwater Hotel
 * Blackwater Police Department, the building also doubles as a headquarters for the Bureau of Investigation.
 * Chapel
 * Doctor's Office, owned and operated by Dr. Cyril Purvis.
 * General Store, operated by Norris Laskey
 * Gunsmith, owned and operated by Elmer Purdy.
 * Newspapers can be purchased next to the train station, in front of the plaza or outside the saloon.
 * Safehouse, located on the second floor of the saloon, unlocked during the story.
 * Saloon, owned by Oliver Philips, operated by Milford Weaver and Fannie Howard.
 * Stagecoach, found across from the train station.
 * Tailor, owned and operated by E.H. Kretzschmar.
 * Theatre, operated by Stanley Palmer.
 * Train Station, provides travel via railway, also contains a telegraph office, operated by Stonewall Ellington, where Marston can pay off his bounties.
 * Wanted Posters can be found on a board inside the train station.