Guided to Hiddenwood Cliff by Sioux and Arikara scouts, General George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry camped on this famed buffalo hunting spot on July 8, 1874. The Custer Expedition was on its way to the Black Hills in South Dakota and . . . — — Map (db m113252) HM
Yellowstone Trail
The Yellowstone Trail was the first transcontinental automobile highway through he United States northern tier. The highway was created from a grassroots movement of local volunteers and originated near this . . . — — Map (db m113251) HM
In 1882 and 1883, the American buffalo made their last stand here in the valley of Hiddenwood and within a 30-mile range of this area. Hiddenwood Cliff, directly opposite across Hiddenwood Creek, was an ancient landmark for buffalo hunting tribes . . . — — Map (db m113254) HM
A Tribute to Pioneer Living
This small cabin was constructed in 1878
by Norwegian immigrant Carl Bjerke
Jensen and his nephew John Bjerke.
Carl moved to Dakota Territory from
Minnesota with his father, Jens, and
brothers, Hans and . . . — — Map (db m176586) HM
Kathryn, a typical prairie town, sprang
from the landscape with railroad
construction. Although the area was
settled by pioneers in the late 1870s, the
arrival of a Northern Pacific Railroad line
in 1900 and the establishment of . . . — — Map (db m279297) HM
This oak log home built in 1878
by Carl Jensen and his nephew John
Bjerkie was used as a community
center by the single men of the time.
A short distance to the north was
the Walker flour mill, one of the
earliest on the Sheyenne river.
. . . — — Map (db m175433) HM
Waldheim Church
During the mid-1880s, the Sheyenne
River Valley was beginning to fill with
settlers, many of whom were
Scandinavian Lutherans eager to
follow faith and tradition in providing
religious instruction to their . . . — — Map (db m177201) HM
Walker’s Best
The Walker family, Minnesota emigrants,
had milling in their blood. In 1879, Hiram
Walker established a mill in Valley City.
A few years later, his son Myron took over
and built a new mill at Oakville—he later
bought . . . — — Map (db m177164) HM
The Great American Barn
Rustic barns... tall silos... the Great Plains evoke nostalgic images of rural life. The disappearance of these farming icons reminds us of the changing nature of
agriculture — as large farming . . . — — Map (db m279292) HM
Left side
Site of Daily School No. 1
District No. 1 Organized in 1878.
School House Built in 1880.
Reorganized with
Kathryn Dist. No. 93 in 1954
This school served as a Learning Center, a church and a place for social . . . — — Map (db m279192) HM
The gently rolling landscape here is typical of the Glaciated Plains, a vast area that extends south from Manitoba and Saskatchewan, through northern and eastern North Dakota, into eastern South Dakota. Glaciers flowed south through this area 12,500 . . . — — Map (db m162958) HM
This rest area is located in a Tree Claim that was planted in 1884.
A Tree Claim was issued to homesteaders if they promised to plant at least 10 acres of trees for their continuous supply of fuelwood and fence posts. They would then be given . . . — — Map (db m162955) HM
“Ribbon” Rail carries the heavier loads of today. Although this short section seems rigid, the ribbon rail is actually flexible. It is welded into long sections which may be up to a quarter mile long! Due to its flexibility, this rail can be . . . — — Map (db m242765) HM
These 1895 dated rails were taken up from the building site of the Rosebud Visitor Center. While the original Northern Pacific rails at this site were laid in 1872, lighter rail such as this tend to wear out more quickly. Early locomotives were . . . — — Map (db m242599) HM
The men who organized the Midland Continental had dreams that this line would be a successful transcontinental railroad carrying heavy trains loaded with the abundant grains of the north to the shipping lines of the Texas gulf. However, the . . . — — Map (db m242708) HM
A wooden bridge was originally built at this site in 1935. Damaged over the years by farm traffic, trucks from nearby gravel pits, and occasional flooding, the bridge was reconstructed in 1969 and then totally replaced in 1995. Maryvale . . . — — Map (db m242399) HM
In 1879, land developer B.W. Benson cleared this land of the densely covered brush and platted it for residential development along the Sheyenne River. He set the center area aside for a park. Later, Benson sold the entire tract to the city for the . . . — — Map (db m242288) HM
“In front of the building [McFarland Hall] lies the winding and picturesque Sheyenne and beyond it the city, the whole of which may be seen in panorama from the front windows.... The grounds are reached on the city side across a beautiful steel . . . — — Map (db m242390) HM
The original bridge in this location was a wooden structure built in 1898. The citizens requested this bridge to access new development in the "Normal Park" addition being developed at that time. The wooden structure was replaced by a concrete . . . — — Map (db m242397) HM
The process of building a railroad has changed very little through the years (with the exception of the extensive use of power equipment today). The basic materials in a section of track is the same today as it was a century ago. After the . . . — — Map (db m242581) HM
Caboose BN11603 retired from Alliance, Nebraska and was donated to the Valley City Park District in 1989 by the Burlington Northern Railroad. A caboose though seldom used today, was used to protect the rear of the train, provide shelter and an easy . . . — — Map (db m242595) HM
The City Park is a peninsula created by an oxbow on the Sheyenne River. Three bridges were built on this oxbow to provide access to the park and for crosstown traffic. The original wooden footbridge, located at this site, was built in 1881, the . . . — — Map (db m242289) HM
Born in Germany in 1887, Herman Stern immigrated to America in 1903, where he took work at the Straus Clothing store in Carrington. Stern later managed the Straus’ North Dakota businesses from his store in Valley City, where he lived for the . . . — — Map (db m99291) HM
The original line of the Northern Pacific Railroad, now the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, descended into Valley City, crossed the Sheyenne River and continued out of the valley. Because of the steep grades, "pusher" engines were required to push . . . — — Map (db m242298) HM
Clustered around the campus of Valley City State University is a unique neighborhood of architecturally and historically significant houses dating from the 1880s to the 1930s. The neighborhood is important for its historical association with Valley . . . — — Map (db m241099) HM
King School
When the last students walked out of the
King School in 1967, their departure
marked the end of an era—the closure of the last operating one-room schoolhouse
in Barnes County. Once, over 100 of these
tiny institutions dotted . . . — — Map (db m175564) HM
This 1908 steel viaduct across the Sheyenne River Valley allowed the railroad to avoid steep grades. At 3886 feet (1184 meters) long and 155 feet (47 meters) high, it is an excellent example of this bridge type. — — Map (db m242299) HM
Sheyenne River The river was formed by the meltwater of the Wisconsinan glacier about 13,000 years ago. The valley constitutes the glacier's western edge at that time. Flowing 581 miles from its headwaters located 15 miles north of . . . — — Map (db m242287) HM
As transportation technology advanced, locomotives became more powerful, carried bigger and heavier cargo, and required heavier rails. Older, lighter rails were updated with increasingly heavier ones. Rail sections are stamped with the . . . — — Map (db m242598) HM
“Northern Pacific Times, Valley City, Dakota, July 17, 1879 — County Commissioners ordered no swimming in sight of the new bridge, several women having complained of the sight of nude bodies when crossing the bridge.” Built in 1879, the same . . . — — Map (db m242398) HM
At 581 miles, the Sheyenne River is the longest in North Dakota. When the Wisconsinan ice sheet melted about 13,000 years ago, it left behind the Sheyenne River and a trench that reaches up to 300 feet deep and a mile wide. Discover historic, . . . — — Map (db m242596) HM
There has been a succession of beautiful fountains in City Park that have been as different as its changing landscape. The first fountain, installed in the 1880s, was a bronze, one-tiered fountain with a boy holding an umbrella. The next . . . — — Map (db m242199) HM
Rails, regardless of weight, have to conform to the laws of physics. All rails will contract in severe cold, and expand in summer heat. With prolonged heat, rails can buckle into an "S"-shaped curve called a sun kink. Mild sun kinks may shrink . . . — — Map (db m242766) HM
[right side]Dedicated to our old friend and musical enthusiast D. W. Clark who organized the first band in Valley City April 5, 1881 [left side]Erected July 1931 by the Valley City Municipal . . . — — Map (db m242439) HM
The Valley City Street & Interurban Railroad was incorporated in June, 1905, by O.A. Beeman to transport passengers, goods, and rail cars between two larger lines. The Soo Line passed north of the city without a spur line to serve local . . . — — Map (db m242769) HM
Elizabeth Preston Anderson, Valley City resident, Pres. ND Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, worked for Women’s Suffrage 1893-1920. — — Map (db m205621) HM
The massive beam on which the rails are mounted was removed from the High Line Bridge about a quarter century ago. It is made by sandwiching different layers of wood and connecting the layers with steel rods. This beam can support the weight of . . . — — Map (db m242597) HM
A Taste of North Dakota What did you have for breakfast this morning? Chances are that you ate a little bit of North Dakota — the corn sweetener in your cereal, the wheat in your toast, the soybean oil in your margarine. Did you wash your hair? . . . — — Map (db m303298) HM
Authorized by the North Dakota 48th Legislative Assembly to honor the members of
The 164th Infantry Regiment, North Dakota Army National Guard
*The 164th Infantry Regiment of the Americal Division was the first US . . . — — Map (db m279070) HM
The Honored Dead Barnes County
Spanish American War
John B. Ewing
World War I
George O. Altringer •
Carl M. Askin •
Gordon S. Barr •
George O. Barnick •
John E. Barstad •
Herman Behm •
Ralph A. Bergen •
Manuel A. . . . — — Map (db m279139) WM
The Honored Dead Barnes County
World War II
Bill Baldwin •
Benjamin Barnard •
Bernard S. Bennison •
Ervin D. Bergan •
Willard Brandt •
Merrill C Brimer •
Melvin G. Busche •
William M. Carney •
Orville E. Chilson •
James . . . — — Map (db m279142) WM
Children are the innocent victims of adult hatred, ignorance, and bigotry. During the Holocaust, 1939-1945, 1.5 million Jewish children were murdered.
No child should ever be a victim again.
"How can a person not be moved by . . . — — Map (db m279149) WM
1830 Beginning of the railroad era in the United States.
1850 9,021 miles of track are completed, all east of the Mississippi.
1869 The First Transcontinental Railroad is completed when the Golden spike is driven in Utah Territory, . . . — — Map (db m183737) HM
1920 Peggy Lee is born Norma Deloris Egstrom in Jamestown, North Dakota.
1924 Norma's mother, Selma Egstrom dies.
1928 The Egstroms move from Jamestown to Nortonville.
1934 The Egstrom family moves to Wimbledon.
1936 Norma . . . — — Map (db m183734) HM
Named in honor of Brevet Major General Joseph Gilbert Totten, Fort Totten protected overland transportation and communication routes from Minnesota to the Missouri River and Montana. In addition, the treaty of February 19, 1867, provided for a . . . — — Map (db m231947) HM
From the populated villages of Ukraine to the unsettled regions of North Dakota, the Ukrainian immigrants came here at the end of the 19th century. They emigrated from the “Bread Basket of Europe” to the virgin sodland yet untouched by man – from . . . — — Map (db m178102) HM
Water's a scarce commodity in the semi-arid Northern Plains-a resource worth fighting for when men and stock are running on empty. The Battle of the Badlands-the only significant engagement between the soldiers and the Sioux to occur along the . . . — — Map (db m254490) HM
Three prominent leaders among the Lakota and Dakota Sioux who called this region home and resisted encroachment by white Americans were Tatanka Iyotake (Sitting Bull), Pizi (Gall), and Inkpaduta (Red Point). Sitting Bull, born in 1831, became an . . . — — Map (db m87775) HM
The Bad Lands Cantonment, a temporary military base to protect railroad construction workers from Indian attacks, was established on November 10, 1879. At first consisting of only canvas tents, the cantonment soon grew to eight lumber buildings, . . . — — Map (db m87804) HM
In the era of the open range cattle industry of the late 1800’s, ranchers would work together to round up their free-ranging cattle in the spring and fall. During roundups the cattle would be driven to a wide river bottom like this one, where they . . . — — Map (db m88612) HM
Billings County was formed in 1879 and organized in 1886. Medora became the county seat in 1886, three years before North Dakota became a state in 1889. The first county offices were located in Roberts Hall. Two small homes built in the 1880s were . . . — — Map (db m88030) HM
The drought and depression of the 1930’s hit the badlands region hard. Small landowners, no longer able to eke out a living, sold their lands to the government with the hope of finding a new start elsewhere. Throughout the country, men were out of . . . — — Map (db m88610) HM
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a peacetime “army” of civilians between 1933 and 1941 which served to create jobs for unemployed men and to protect natural resources. Two CCC camps were located near Medora. In 1934 the CCC camp of . . . — — Map (db m87782) HM
The grey and red building that you see to the south is the Chateau built in 1883 by Marquis de Mores, a French nobleman, who founded the town of Medora. It was occupied as a part-time residence until the fall of 1886 and was frequently the scene . . . — — Map (db m87975) HM
One of the goals of early exploring parties in this area was to find local fuel, coal that fit the bill needed for railroad construction. One of the first area coal mines was located just west of Medora. The Northern Pacific Coal Company operated . . . — — Map (db m88007) HM
The American cowboy has become a mythical figure in the national consciousness. This would, no doubt, have surprised most of the common laborers who earned meager pay as cowboys. A number of them were indeed colorful characters. Some became outlaws . . . — — Map (db m88061) HM
The Yellowstone Expedition of 1876, organized to suppress the hostile Sioux, marched from Fort Abraham Lincoln May 17, 1876.
The Expedition camped at the junction of Davis Creek and the Little Missouri River, four miles south of Medora on May . . . — — Map (db m154256) HM
In memory of Antoine Manca de Vallombrosa Marquis de Mores Lieutenant French Cavalry Born in Paris 1858 Killed in North Africa 1896 and of his wife Medora who founded this town in 1883 — — Map (db m87539) HM
was built on this site by the Marquis De Mores in 1883 to furnish dressed beef directly from the western ranges. It was successfully operated for several years, destroyed by fire 1907.Exhibits on other side < Reverse Side : > Site of the . . . — — Map (db m87790) HM
Antoine Amédé Marie Vincent Amat Manca de Vallombrosa, more commonly known as the Marquis de Mores, was a French aristocrat with an entrepreneurial spirit typical of the late 1800s. The Marquis was one of many who sought to profit from the cattle . . . — — Map (db m87796) HM
The Little Missouri Badlands played a key strategic role in the conflict between American Indians and the expanding United States. General Alfred Sully in 1864 led the first military expedition to cross the badlands. The expedition of 2,200 men . . . — — Map (db m87805) HM
Between 1874 and 1893, seven million head of cattle and horses went up the Great Western Trail from Texas through nine U.S. states into Canada. This famous trail lasted more years, carried more cattle, and was longer than any other cattle . . . — — Map (db m87498) HM
Before you lies a scene not greatly changed since Theodore Roosevelt’s time here in the 1880s. Gone are the ambitious De Mores Packing Plant, the military cantonment and the early village of Little Missouri. But still present are the colorful . . . — — Map (db m154615) HM
The Marquis de Mores, a charismatic French nobleman, founded Medora in 1883. The Northern Pacific Railroad had reached the badlands only three years prior, opening the region to entrepreneurs and adventurers from the East.
For a few years the . . . — — Map (db m154951) HM
The Hotel de Mores was built by the Marquis de Mores in 1883 and served as a boarding house for up to 100 people. The 100-foot by 25-foot hotel was located north of the railroad depot and faced north. Manager George Fitzgerald advertised it as the . . . — — Map (db m88037) HM
The Little Missouri Badlands have always been ideal habitat for wildlife. American Indians hunted these lands for centuries. The first known white explorers, the La Verendrye brothers, ventured into the badlands in 1742. Trapper Jean Baptiste La . . . — — Map (db m87992) HM
Behind the visitor center is an old, rustic cabin. Architecturally insignificant, a person might wonder why it is here. To understand, step over the threshold and walk inside the building that housed a future president at a pivotal moment in . . . — — Map (db m87230) HM
Joe Ferris wore many hats in Medora. He was a hunting guide, a Medora postmaster and a successful merchant. Ferris opened his first general store in Little Missouri. In 1885 he began work in Medora on the current two-story, 25-foot by 75-foot . . . — — Map (db m88062) HM
From its formation in 1879 to its official organization on April 12, 1886, Billings County had no county offices or officials. All administrative duties were performed through the Morton County Courthouse at Mandan, some 130 miles to the east. The . . . — — Map (db m88025) HM
The Little Missouri River was a challenge for motorists. Motorists had to ford the river or wait for a railroad crew to carry their autos across on a flatcar. Construction of a transcontinental highway system began in 1912. The lack of proper . . . — — Map (db m87977) HM
The town of Little Missouri was founded in 1880 at the site of the Northern Pacific Railroad section house and depot, on the west bank of the river. In late 1880, Frank Moore, the Post Trader of the nearby military cantonment, opened the Pyramid . . . — — Map (db m87982) HM
A spur track connected the slaughterhouse with the main line of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Ice from the icehouses to your right were used to cool the refrigerator cars when the meat was loaded into them. The Marquis owned cold storage . . . — — Map (db m87799) HM
Margaret Barr was born in Ireland on September 15, 1853, and immigrated to Iowa with her family about 1864. In April 1871, she married John Lloyd Roberts from Wales, and soon became a pioneer wife to a cattle dealer and butcher. The couple arrived . . . — — Map (db m88018) HM
Medora’s business district originated north of 3rd Avenue. After Medora’s founding in 1883, carpenters, masons and other laborers filled the community, benefiting from a construction boom. Medora also became a supply hub for area ranchers and . . . — — Map (db m88066) HM
The Medora Cemetery consists of 1.93 acres located on a grassy plateau on the west bank of the Little Missouri River overlooking Medora. The Medora Cemetery Association was formed on October 15, 1919, by six pioneers of this area: Geo. R. . . . — — Map (db m87984) HM
The railroad reached the Little Missouri River in 1880. The Northern Pacific Railroad named the stop Pyramid Park. When the Marquis de Mores and Theodore Roosevelt arrived in 1883, the train depot was on the west side of the Little Missouri River. . . . — — Map (db m87986) HM
The need for educating local children was first publicly expressed in 1884 when St. Mary’s Catholic Church Pastor Rev. Martin Schmitt, O.S.B., appealed to Medora residents to establish a school. Classes were begun in a cantonment building west of . . . — — Map (db m88020) HM
Stables were important in early Medora, serving the primary means of local transportation: horseback and horse-drawn vehicles. Livery stables offered horses, teams and wagons for hire. These stables were built in conjunction with hotels so guests’ . . . — — Map (db m88063) HM
Marquis de Mores: A grand entrepreneur. In the fall of 1884 he inaugurated daily round-trip stage and freight service from Medora to the Black Hills of South Dakota. Four coaches were purchased. The Kittie, Medora, Dakota and . . . — — Map (db m88033) HM
The Town Hall was built in 1924 to serve as an activity center for Medora. The building featured electric lights, a hot water heating system, partial basement, a furnished balcony and a projection booth. Opera chairs were provided for ordinary . . . — — Map (db m88013) HM
The badlands you see from here were so named because they were "badlands" to travel over before modern roads were built. Rain, wind and running water have carved these hills. A thick series of shale and sandstone layers, all of these rocks are a . . . — — Map (db m4822)
One hunting trip in the badlands and Theodore Roosevelt was hooked-he invested in the flourishing cattle industry and returned to Dakota Territory often over the next few years.
Roosevelt thoroughly enjoyed "the glory of work and joy of living" . . . — — Map (db m154619) HM
Ralph “Doc” Hubbard was one of the most accomplished people to call Medora home. He was born on June 22, 1885, in New York to Elbert Hubbard, a prominent author and publisher, and Bertha Crawford Hubbard. Doc first visited Medora . . . — — Map (db m88047) HM
You are looking at a portion of the Little Missouri River bottomlands. Cottonwood trees line the river course, where their roots can reach abundant moisture. Dark green juniper trees dot the sheltered slopes of the steep bluffs. On dry open river . . . — — Map (db m154308) HM
Bob Roberts had operated The Senate Billiard and Pool Hall in Little Missouri. Later he joined many of his fellow business owners across the river in Medora. An April 1884 edition of The Bad Lands Cow Boy reported the contract for . . . — — Map (db m88016) HM
George Fitzgerald’s success operating the Hotel de Mores was such that in November 1884 he began work on his own 35-feet by 80 feet two-story hotel. Brick veneer was planned but was never added. The Bad Lands Cow Boy described its interior . . . — — Map (db m87499) HM
Medora de Vallombrosa, wife of the Marquis de Mores, financed the construction of this brick church late in the summer of 1884. This gift to her namesake community was paid for from an annual income of $90,000, earned from a stock portfolio she . . . — — Map (db m88001) HM
He laid the foundation of the National Park Service, defining and establishing the policies under which its areas shall be developed and conserved unimpaired for future generations. There will never come an end to the good that he has done. — — Map (db m87237) HM
In late 1908, Christ Pederson of Dickinson purchased the General Store from Joe Ferris and moved to Medora. On August 6, 1909, Pederson, Harve Robinson, and George Burgess filed a Certificate of Organization. The Stockmens State Bank was . . . — — Map (db m88040) HM
At the age of 22, Arthur T. Packard started Medora’s first newspaper, The Bad Lands Cow Boy. The first issue came off the press on February 7, 1884. Marquis de Mores was the major advertiser in the paper. Editor Packard produced a paper . . . — — Map (db m88045) HM
Theodore Roosevelt first came to the badlands in September 1883 to hunt buffalo. “Old Four Eyes” loved the life of the badlands’ cowboys and participated in roundups, brandings and social events, earning the respect of those he so . . . — — Map (db m88009) HM
William Riley Luffsey was born in Wayne County, Missouri, around 1859. He died in a gun battle along the Little Missouri River on June 26, 1883, about a mile west of the twin towns of Little Missouri and Medora. Riley Luffsey was a popular young . . . — — Map (db m87554) HM
The Soldiers and the Sioux
Cultural Conflicts Set the Stage
During the late 1800s, miners, traders and homesteaders rushed to the West, pushing Northern Plains tribes into ever smaller remnants of their homelands. Treaties between the . . . — — Map (db m254492) HM
(Two panels mounted back to back:)
The Soldiers and the Sioux
Cultural Conflicts Set the Stage
During the late 1800s, miners, traders and homesteaders rushed to the West, pushing Northern Plains tribes into . . . — — Map (db m254162) HM
“I propose to create a Civilian Conservation Corps . . . We can take a vast army of these unemployed out into healthful surroundings. We can eliminate to some extent at least the threat that enforced idleness brings to spiritual and moral . . . — — Map (db m87538) HM
In August 1884, Athenais von Hoffman, mother-in-law of the Marquis de Mores, commissioned Peter Book to erect a brick cottage for use by her and her husband, Louis. The new home was completed in 1884 but was probably not occupied until the . . . — — Map (db m88004) HM
The picturesque Little Missouri badlands are a unique landscape. The arrival of the railroad in 1880 opened the area to tourists who wanted to experience the western lifestyle. The first dude ranch in America opened in 1882, four miles south of . . . — — Map (db m87788) HM
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