Menoken in Burleigh County, North Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Menoken Village State Historic Site

Photographed by Connor Olson, September 16, 2019

1. Menoken Village State Historic Site Marker

Inscription.

Menoken Village State Historic Site. . Menoken Village was a small community consisting of approximately 30 oval-shaped, earth-covered houses and a prominent fortification system. Once thought to have been a Mandan Village occupied at the time of early contact with Euroamericans, Menoken Village has recently been radiocarbon dated to around AD 1200. Archeological studies indicate that this settlement was built and used by Late Plains Woodland peoples, who were primarily hunters and gatherers rather than farming people. The community may have consisted of 200 individuals.

Can the site be attributed to historically known village tribes?

Menoken Village is earlier than any settlement that can be linked with certainty to Mandan, Hidatsa, or Arikara peoples in North Dakota. However, the people who occupied Menoken Village were probably the ancestors of at least some of these historic village tribes.

Why this location?

This location was carefully chosen for its defensive features. The steep banks to the north and west would be difficult for intruders to climb. The rest of the village was protected by a tall wall, or palisade, and the deep ditch we can still see today. The fortification ditch was dug just outside the palisade, enclosing almost one and one-half acres, As the map shows, the ditch formed a long arc, interrupted by four projecting loops, or bastions.

Usual features of Menoken Village

. Early settlement date (about AD 1200);

. Unusual fortification system, which required organized labor and much timber;

. Location along with a small stream rather than along one of the major rivers in North Dakota; and

. Menoken's several large oval houses, which differ from the later and better-known rectangular and circular earthlodge forms.

Photo captions: , Upper left: Aerial photograph of Menoken Village , Upper right: Site map of Menoken Village drawn in 1998 , Lower right: Map illustrating location of Menoken village along Apple Creek, a tributary of the Missouri River

Menoken Village was a small community consisting of approximately 30 oval-shaped, earth-covered houses and a prominent fortification system. Once thought to have been a Mandan Village occupied at the time of early contact with Euroamericans, Menoken Village has recently been radiocarbon dated to around AD 1200. Archeological studies indicate that this settlement was built and used by Late Plains Woodland peoples, who were primarily hunters and gatherers rather than farming people. The community may have consisted of 200 individuals.

Can the site be attributed to historically known village tribes?

Why this location?

Usual features of Menoken Village

• Early settlement date (about AD 1200);

• Unusual fortification system, which required organized labor and much timber;

• Location along with a small stream rather than along one of the major rivers in North Dakota; and

• Menoken's several large oval houses, which differ from the later and better-known rectangular and circular earthlodge forms.

Photo captions:
Upper left: Aerial photograph of Menoken Village
Upper right: Site map of Menoken Village drawn in 1998
Lower right: Map illustrating location of Menoken village along Apple Creek, a tributary of the Missouri River

Erected by State

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Historical Society of North Dakota.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Indigenous Peoples and Communities.

Location. 46° 50.476′ N, 100° 31.095′ W. Marker is in Menoken, North Dakota, in Burleigh County. It can be reached from 171st Street Northeast 0.2 miles north of 30th Avenue Northeast, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Menoken ND 58558, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on the Missouri Plateau

and in Greater Bismarck Area.

It is also in the American Lewis & Clark Corridor,

on the prairies,

and on the Northern Plains.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 7 other markers are within 16 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Menoken Indian Village Site (here, next to this marker); Early Archeological Studies At Menoken Village

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(within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Menoken Village State Historic Site (within shouting distance of this marker); Investigating a Pit House (within shouting distance of this marker); Trade at Menoken (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Apple Creek (approx. 3.1 miles away); Garner Park (approx. 15.9 miles away).

Also see . . . Menoken Village State Historic Site. (Submitted on August 4, 2020, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.)

Credits. This page was last revised on August 7, 2020. It was originally submitted on August 4, 2020, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 331 times since then and 11 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on August 4, 2020, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.

Editor’s want-list for this marker. A wide shot of the marker and its surroundings. • Can you help?