Cannonball Stage Station

Cannonball Stage Station. . , This is the site of the stagecoach station at the Cannonball Crossing of the Black Hills or Deadwood Trail. Originating at Bismarck, the trail passed through Fort Abraham Lincoln and continued in a southwesterly direction to Deadwood, a distance of about 240 miles. The route was developed after gold deposits in the Black Hills were confirmed by the 1874 Custer Expedition and was followed by those transporting passengers and freight from the rail head of the Northern Pacific Railroad to the gold rush area. In the spring of 1877, the trail was surveyed and designated an official territorial road. , This station was built in 1877 by the Northwestern Express and Transportation Company which dominated passenger and freight traffic over the trail. Late in 1880, when a shorter trail originating at Pierre was opened, the Bismarck route declined and soon thereafter this station was abandoned. The trail subsequently served area settlers and ranchers until a modern road system was developed. , Depressions marking the location of the station buildings are still visible and wheel ruts can be seen in the undisturbed prairie to the Southwest and Northeast of this site. The old river crossing was located about 150 feet South of this point. The site was donated to the State of North Dakota in 1959 by Jack and Lloyd Stewart, residents of this area.