On State Highway 200 near West Missouri Drive, on the right when traveling west.
Wednesday, August 13, 1806
With "the assistance of the wind, the current and our oars," the expedition covered 86 miles of its homeward journey on the cool and blustery day. At the mouth of the Little Missouri, the party stopped to . . . — — Map (db m283568) HM
Thomas Jefferson imagined the land explored by the Corps of Discovery as a blank canvas which would take many generations to fill. When Fort Stevenson was established in 1867 less than three generations had passed and Jefferson's blank canvas was . . . — — Map (db m283551) HM
Near 41st Avenue NW (County Highway 15) near Scooter Drive.
When Fort Stevenson was being built in 1867, 30 million or more buffalo roamed the Great Plains. By the time the fort was decommissioned sixteen years later, it is estimated that only 2,000 were left.
The Native American Indians used . . . — — Map (db m283116) HM
Near 73rd Avenue NorthWest near 14th Street NorthWest.
Evidence of Euro-American occupation began to appear near the "big bend" of the Missouri River not long after the Corps of Discovery passed through. Competing trading posts to serve the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara, as well as other tribal groups . . . — — Map (db m284826) HM
On 16th Street NW (North Dakota Route 37) 0.3 miles west of U.S. 83, on the left when traveling west.
Custer Mine, owned and operated by the Truax Traer Coal Company, was a
working surface mine from 1947-1964. The surface or strip mining method of coal
mining is used when the coal seam is near the surface of the ground. The
lignite coal was mined . . . — — Map (db m164410) HM
Near 41st Avenue Northwest (County Road 15) near Scooter Drive, on the right when traveling south.
In August of 1867 General Philippe Regis Denis de Keredern de Trobriand took command of Fort Stevenson, headquarters for the Middle District of Dakota Territory. He served at the fort through April of 1869 and is the best known commander of Fort . . . — — Map (db m286143) HM
Near 73rd Avenue NorthWest @ 14th Street NorthWest.
The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara used various kinds of dwelling before and after coming together as a single group in the Nineteenth Century. Earthlodges were the largest of the dwellings. These were round structures based upon four large posts 12 . . . — — Map (db m284820) HM
Wednesday, August 13, 1806
With "the assistance of the wind, the current and our oars," the expedition covered 86 miles of its homeward journey on the cool and blustery day. At the mouth of the Little Missouri, the party stopped to . . . — — Map (db m283566) HM
Near 73rd Avenue NorthWest at 14th Street NorthWest.
In 1928 the Fort Berthold Reservation Civic Organization (FBRCO) was organized to promote the building of a Missouri River bridge at Elbowoods. The river split the reservation into two parts that could only be crossed by ferry boats. Work began in . . . — — Map (db m284818) HM
Dam Type ... Belled Earth
Height ... 202 feet
Length ... 11,3000 feet
Width At Top Of Dam ,,, 60 feet
Width At Bottom of Dam ... 3,400 feet
Volume of Earth Fill ... 66,500,000 cubic yard
Volume Of Concrete ... 1,500,000 cubic . . . — — Map (db m283554) HM
Near 73rd Avenue NorthWest at 14th Street NorthWest.
The Missouri River winds through the fertile and alluvial floodplains within the river trench.
Overlooking the valley is the drift prairie, covered by glacial till, which is equally fertile. Within the river are found bars of sand , silt, and . . . — — Map (db m284979) HM
In March 1805, Lewis and Clark hired a French-Canadian fur trader living with the Hidastsa Indians. This man, Toussaint Charbonneau, along with his wife, a teenage Indian girl named Sakakawea, would serve as interpreters.
Sakakawea proved her . . . — — Map (db m283555) HM
Near 73rd Avenue NorthWest at 14th Street NorthWest.
With the flooding of the reservoir, the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold sought to have a Native American honored in naming the lake, particularly after having given up much of their prime agricultural land to the reservoir. Finally, on July . . . — — Map (db m284838) HM
On North Dakota Route 37 near U.S. 83, on the left when traveling west.
People have lived in the area now called North Dakota for over 12,000 years. The people of prehistoric
times were nomadic hunters and gatherers. More recent Native American tribes of this area include the Mandan, Arikara and Hidatsa. These . . . — — Map (db m164407) HM
Near 73rd Avenue NorthWest at 14th Street NorthWest.
The Corps of Discovery, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, passed through the part of the Missouri River Valley, now encompassed by Lake Sakakawea, in April 1805. The camp for the latter day being approximately at the south end of the Lewis . . . — — Map (db m284833) HM
Near 73rd Avenue NorthWest at 14th Street NorthWest.
Uncovering the Past
Nightwalker's Village was extensively excavated by archaeologists from the Smithsonian Institute in the 1950s, as part of the Missouri River Basin Surveys. Low circular mounds and depressions in the grass hinted at . . . — — Map (db m284977) HM
Near 73rd Avenue NorthWest at 14th Street NorthWest.
On the flat-topped butte across the valley, once stood and Hidatsa village of 28 small earthlodges, enclosed within a high, defensive fence, or palisade of posts that followed the bluff edge. The village was named after Nightwalker, a Hidatsa leader . . . — — Map (db m284978) HM
Sakakawea was probably born among the Shoshone Indians around 1787 in the Three-Forks-Shoshone Cove region of what is now southwestern Montana. She was captured at about age eleven by Hidatsa raiders from the Knife River villages in present-day . . . — — Map (db m283108) HM
On State Highway 37 near Federal Highway 83, on the left when traveling west.
The transition from a working coal mine to today's
Custer Mine Wildlife Management Area took place over
many years. While the coal mine was still in operation,
local residents started planting trees on the mine spoil
banks. The trees were . . . — — Map (db m164412) HM
On State Highway 200 near West Missouri Drive, on the right when traveling north.
Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Territory
The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara (MHA) tribal lands historically encompassed much of the west and central North Dakota, Before 1851, the US government did not delimit MHA territory, but this changed . . . — — Map (db m283984) HM
On State Highway 200 near West Missouri Drive, on the right when traveling east.
Riverdale, Pick City, Dakota City, American City, Sitka, Silver City, and Big Bend are towns a dam built.
Boom towns and the Government town of Riverdale sprang up rapidly between the years of 1945 and 1946 as the Garrison Dam . . . — — Map (db m284059) HM
On State Highway 200 near West Missouri Drive, on the right.
The Garrison Dam Project required a significant workforce, and they lived in local company towns built and managed by the government. Blending permanent dam administration buildings with temporary homes for the surge of workers, towns like . . . — — Map (db m284084) HM
Two Engineers, General Lewis Pick and William Sloan, were tasked to develop a plan to stop flooding and drought cycles plaguing the region between 1935 and 1944. The Garrison Dam being part of their plan was authorized by congress in the Flood . . . — — Map (db m284057) HM
On State Highway 200 near West Missouri Drive, on the right when traveling west.
MHA Nation
The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara, today allied as the HMA Natio, haven deep historical and cultural connections to the Missouri River. The Mandan and Hidatsa, both Siouan speaking peoples. have oral histories that tie their . . . — — Map (db m283980) HM
On State Highway 200 near West Missouri Drive, on the right when traveling west.
But it's only a small part, used to manage water levels above and below the dam.
(photo upper left:) The Emergency Spillway, as it was once called, is believed to only be used in the event of and emergency, but this is not the case. The . . . — — Map (db m284062) HM
Near 28th Avenue Southwest near 8th Street Southwest.
"the root wen pounded in either green or dryed state makes an excellent poltice for swelling or soar throat..." Meriwether Lewis, Winter 1804
Captain Meriwether Lewis, a fervent student of plants since childhood and the naturalist of . . . — — Map (db m253187) HM
On 28th Avenue Southwest near 8th Street Southwest.
"... all our provisions goods and equipage on Board of a Boat of 22 oars, a large Perogue of 7 oars and a second Perogue of 6 oars, complete with sails" -Captain William Clark, May 13, 1804
The Corps of Discovery traveled nearly eight . . . — — Map (db m253141) HM
Near 8th Street Southwest (County Road 17) near 28th Avenue Southwest (State Road 23), on the right when traveling west.
In December of 1804 the temperature dipped and snow began to fall. Despite waking to an unrelenting cold the Corps of Discovery continued to work on the finishing touches of Fort Mandan, went hunting and preformed the never-ending job of gathering . . . — — Map (db m162597) HM
Near 8th Street Southwest (County Highway 17) near 28th Avenue Southwest, on the right when traveling west.
From this site, North Dakota Wagon Train, that took our message to Valley Forge, left on September 26, 1975.
Outriders presented scrolls from their various bicentennial communities to Wagon Master Jerry Nelson and Governor Arthur Link. These . . . — — Map (db m162594) HM
Near 28th Avenue Southwest near 8th Street Southwest.
"We are situated in a point of the Missouri North side in a Cotton wood Timbery this Timber is tall and heavy" William Clark, November 9, 1804
Cottonwood trees played a vital role in the success of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Like . . . — — Map (db m253184) HM
Near 28th Avenue Southwest near 8th Street Southwest.
"This River is a turbilant + muddy stream..." -William Clark, undated, winter 1804-05
The Missouri River was part of the Lewis & Clark Expedition from Camp Debois to near the crest of the Rocky Mountains. Even though the men contended . . . — — Map (db m253173) HM
Near 8th Street Southwest just west of State Highway 200, on the left when traveling west.
One of the earliest forms of Missouri River transportation was the bull boat. Used primarily by the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara tribes, bull boats served as the main watercraft for natives living along the river banks. These boats were both built . . . — — Map (db m235041) HM
On Boat Ramp Road just west of 1st Avenue, on the left when traveling west.
To attract shoppers to Washburn from west of the Missouri River, the Washburn Road installed a cable ferry in May 1902, known unofficially as the General Washburn. Cable ferries were small, unpowered boats attached to steel cables stretched between . . . — — Map (db m235089) HM
Near 28th Avenue Southwest near 8th Street Southwest.
"We had several presents from the women of corn boiled homney. soft corn &c.&c." -William Clark, October 28, 1805
Long before the migration of settlers and establishment of farms in present day North Dakota, Mandan and Hidatsa women . . . — — Map (db m253144) HM
Near 8th Street Southwest (County Road 17) near 29th Avenue Southwest (County Highway 23), on the left when traveling west.
Winter 1804-1805
Named for the nearby Indians, Fort Mandan was winter quarters for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Sited by Captain Clark on November 2, 1804, the fort was built in a triangular shape from cottonwood logs cut in . . . — — Map (db m162536) HM
Near 8th Street Southwest (County Road 17) near 28th Avenue Southwest (County Road 23), on the right when traveling west.
Fort Mandan, 1804-05 Winter Quarters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also was the birthplace of the son born to Sakakawea and her French husband Charbonneau, interpreter for the explorers. The "Bird Woman" helped guide Lewis and Clark to their . . . — — Map (db m162595) HM
On 37th Avenue Sourthwest near 7m Street Southwest, on the right.
Approximately two miles south of this point, on low ground, on the east bank of the Missouri River the Lewis and Clark Expedition built Fort Mandan. This fort, the first military post in the State, was a substantial log structure which served as . . . — — Map (db m252802) HM
On 37th Avenue Southwest near 7m Street Southwest.
camped in this vicinity from October 27 1804 to April 7 1805. Captain Meriwether Lewis, a member of St. Louis Lodge No. 111 A.F.&A.M., was possibly the first mason to tread upon what is now North Dakota soil. Captain William Clark was made a mason . . . — — Map (db m252808) HM
On 8th Street Southwest near State Highway 200, on the left when traveling north.
The Mandan Winter
"If we eat you Shall eat, if we Starve, you must Starve also."
Mandan Chief Sheheka-shote, to Captains Lewis and Clark, November 1, 1804
With those words, Chief Sheheke-shote (White Coyote), . . . — — Map (db m162953) HM
Near 8th Street Southwest (County Highway 17) near 28th Avenue Southwest (County Highway 23), on the left when traveling north.
Privates John Shields, William Bratton and Alexander Willard manned the blacksmith shop at Fort Mandan. These men provided repair work to native tools, such as sharpening iron hoes and knives and fixing trade kettles.
The Mandan and Hidatsa who . . . — — Map (db m162950) HM
Near Boat Ramp Road just south of Lewis and Clark Trail (1st Street), on the right when traveling south.
Nettle Creek School was the first school in McLean County, opening on November 6, 1883. Originally located seven miles east of Washburn, the one-room country school was first constructed as a log cabin, with clapboard siding added to it later. In . . . — — Map (db m235060) HM
On 28th Avenue Southwest near 8th Street Southwest, on the right when traveling south.
"At half past 2 another gun was fired, as a notice to assemble at the dance, which was continued in a jovial manner until 8 at night " Patrick Gass, Dec. 25, 1804
The Corps of Discovery found many ways to . . . — — Map (db m253183) HM
Near 8th Street at 1st Avenue when traveling south.
The first steamboat to reach the upper Missouri was the American Fur Company's Yellow Stone, which arrived at Fort Union in 1832. Nearly 30 years later, steamers began reaching Fort Benton, Montana, the head of navigation on the Missouri. From then . . . — — Map (db m235097) HM
While preparing for the expedition to the Pacific, Meriwether Lewis visited Philadelphia for instructions in natural sciences, astronomical navigation and field medicine. It is believed that it was during this period that Lewis purchased Seaman, . . . — — Map (db m36352) HM
On Boat Ramp Road just west of 1st Avenue, on the left when traveling west.
The last stern wheel ferry on the Missouri. Built by Oscar Anderson in 1951 and operated by him on the Missouri River at Washburn from 1952 to 1962. Restored by the Washburn Bi-centennial Committee in 1976. American Revolution Bicentennial . . . — — Map (db m235096) HM
Near 8th Street at 1st Avenue when traveling south.
In 1898, William Drew Washburn, a wealthy Minneapolis flour miller, railroad man, and U.S. Senator from Minnesota, purchased 115,000 acres of land along the line between McLean and Burleigh counties. He formed the Bismarck, Washburn & Great Falls . . . — — Map (db m235098) HM
On Main Avenue just south of 10th Street, on the right when traveling south.
Pioneer home of Joseph Henry Taylor, soldier, trapper, hunter, author and printer by trade. Born in 1843 of Quaker parents in Chester County, PA., he drifted west, locating in the Painted Woods area, twelve miles south of here in 1869, where he led . . . — — Map (db m235199) HM
On Boat Ramp Road just west of 1st Avenue, on the left when traveling west.
In 1950 Oscar Anderson, a native of Washburn who had traveled the world since 1917 as an officer in the merchant marine, returned home to spend his retirement years. He found a community that missed its ferryboat connection with the west bank of . . . — — Map (db m235095) HM
Near State Highway 200 0.5 miles south of 8th Street Southwest (Border Lane), on the right when traveling south.
In the early 1920s, most North Dakota towns were served by small local power plants producing direct current (DC) electric power. In 1926, Otter Tail Power Company of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, was one of several companies building a series of power . . . — — Map (db m235057) HM
The bridging of the Missouri River at Washburn had been a longtime goal for residents of the community. As early as 1908, a party of local residents traveled to Washington, D.C., unsuccessfully, in the interests of such a project. During the 1920s . . . — — Map (db m235047) HM
