Blackwater

 is a location featured in Red Dead Redemption in the Great Plains region of the West Elizabeth territory. Blackwater is an industrialized settlement and is the largest city in Red Dead Redemption, serving the area as a thriving port on Flat Iron Lake. It features cobblestone streets with lamps, the first production cars, and telephone lines. The city has also been the site of a bloody gunfight dubbed the "Massacre of Blackwater" in 1899.

Background
Blackwater becomes accessible once the player has gained access to West Elizabeth. It is by far the biggest sign of increasing government control and technology the player can see in the game. The only specific event known in its history is the aforementioned Blackwater Massacre, a large gunfight involving Landon Ricketts in 1899. The bloody gunfight apparently became an infamous event in Wild West history, and presumably led to the strengthening of the town law enforcement and the evolution of Blackwater from a frontier town into a modern settlement.

Though Blackwater is a modernized, prosperous port city, there is still crime that exists even though there are Marshals and police officers around town. This crime is exemplified when performing the Nightwatch job there. In response to this, Blackwater features a unique law enforcement system (instead of the sheriffs and deputies found within other regions), 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 criminal in the town will face severe opposition.

Blackwater is the only town with two police stations. One is shared with the Bureau of Investigation, the other one is located quite close to the saloon.

The Stranger side-mission &quot;American Lobbyist&quot; begins and ends in the gazebo in Blackwater Plaza, with a quick trip into the Bank. The Stranger side-mission &quot;The Wronged Woman&quot; begins and ends at Blackwater Chapel, but also has a trip to the Blackwater Saloon, where the Stranger side-mission &quot;The Prohibitionist&quot; begins and ends. And the final Stranger side-mission &quot;Remember My Family&quot; begins here outside the Train Station.

The town is home to a fairly diverse population and a fairly diverse 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 center of the city's economy and the state's government, but also high-class businesses and hotels, and one road leading out of the city (towards Blackwater Chapel) populated with larger homes for the wealthiest of Blackwater.

In terms of population, there is a wide variety in terms of wealth and race. A majority of the population is of Caucasian descent, however significant populations of 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 the poor (mainly located in the south), but also has a noticeable middle-class population.

During the Undead Nightmare, this is one of 23 locations that must be cleared of the Undead and then protected from re-infestation thereafter. It is also where the mission &quot;Curious Tales from Blackwater, USA&quot; initiates.  also has one of 4 cemeteries that will need to be cleared to complete the mission &quot;Get Back in That Hole, Partner&quot;.

Blackwater Streets
Blackwater is the only town in Red Dead Redemption with notable street names. The names of the streets are:
 * Main Street
 * Wapiti Avenue
 * Tullalah Drive
 * Quayside Road
 * Van Horn Street
 * Sisika Avenue

Amenities

 * Blackwater Chapel
 * Bureau Headquarters/Police Station
 * Cinema
 * Doctor's Office
 * First National Bank
 * General Store
 * Gunsmith
 * Newspapers (can be purchased next to the Train Station, in front of the plaza or outside the saloon).
 * Safehouse
 * Saloon
 * Stagecoach
 * Tailor
 * Telegraph Office
 * Train Station
 * Wanted Posters (can be found inside the Train Station).
 * Blackwater Hotel

Activities

 * Blackjack
 * Nightwatch
 * Poker
 * There are two poker locations in Blackwater, one is in the saloon below the player's safehouse, and the other is a high-stakes game room in the Blackwater Hotel, the last building on the right going north up Main St. from Blackwater Saloon. The game room is upstairs, but the player can only enter it, and thus the game, when wearing the Gentleman's Attire.

Known Glitches

 * (360/PS3) You can still get inside the bank when it's closed at night. To do so, you need to break the window to the left of the front door, and just jump through it. You will be inside the bank with no interior, and you can look through the walls. To get out, just shoot at the door multiple times and it will open up randomly.
 * (PS3/360) In the saloon, if you sprint down the staircase and immediately push someone either playing blackjack, or at least in the vicinity of the table, it is sometimes possible to glitch-teleport anywhere in the area. Possible locations include the room behind the bar (with the locked door) and even a high distance in the sky resulting in a long drop and death.
 * (360/Other?) There is a way to get to the upstairs of the bank. You must get a stage coach, line it up at the back of the building so that the driver's side is closer to the wall, shoot all the horses and Marston will be forced to get off the coach. He should go through the wall and end up on the stairs that lead to the second floor (Note: If you don't go through the wall, then you didn't get close enough to the building). This lets you get to the room where Dutch Van Der Linde shot the bank teller. If you go into that room then there will be no interior.
 * (PS3/Other?) Randomly while riding into Blackwater on your horse, you will find yourself and your horse on top of a roof. When jumping off of the roof, your horse will die. (Multiplayer confirmed only)


 * (360/PS3) There's a house where you can get in by breaking the window, but inside you won't find anything. Just empty spaces. Get to the southernmost house on Blackwater, break the window from the left door and jump it.

Trivia

 * There are two towns in the United States named Blackwater:
 * Blackwater, Arizona
 * Blackwater, Missouri
 * It is possible that Blackwater is a reference to Blackwater USA (now Xe Services LLC), a private military company that is the largest of the U.S. government's three private security contractors. Similarly to John Marston, the company acts as a federally-sponsored hired gun. See Blackwater Worldwide for reference.
 * In the first mission, &quot;Exodus in America&quot;, John explains to Jake on the way to Fort Mercer that Blackwater, "...is not really a city, just a town with disillusions."


 * Just north of Blackwater station on the section of rail that curves round to the west is a telegraph pole that has been positioned incorrectly, it is actually placed on the rail. Given the circumstances this could lead to a glitch if riding the train and colliding with the pole while the train is moving, although the train itself merely passes through it.
 * It seems more likely that Blackwater is based on real life Blackwater, Missouri. The in-game town seems to look almost exactly like the aforementioned real-life town. A simple Google Maps search reveals that the town layout is the same, even the cobblestone streets, railroad, and telegraph station are replicated correctly.
 * It should be noted that in the Newspapers that can be bought, it says that Blackwater will host a Wild West Show. *There is a building in Blackwater that is humorously named "Allthewaye Inn".
 * In the Undead Nightmare DLC you are able to go to the upstairs of the bank.
 * On the side of the High Stakes Poker building, there is an arrow pointing to the docks. Above this arrow are the words "MorningStar Ferry". Not only is this the ferry John is seen leaving but, it is also the name of the ferry in GUN, another game set out on the frontier.

Trophies/Achievement
 is associated with the following Trophies/Achievements:

Blackwater