KX NEWS

One-Day ND Destinations: North Dakota’s Lewis and Clark Tribute Sites

Brendan Rodenberg

WASHBURN, N.D. (KXNET)- Lewis and Clark are well-known as two of the pioneers of westward exploration during the “Manifest Destiny” era in America. Their journey featured a trek across multiple states toward the Pacific Ocean, crossing paths with multiple Native American tribes and landmarks, mapping everything as they went. In many of the states that the duo’s party passed through, there are memorials and museums to chronicle their visit — and North Dakota is no exception.

A writer from KX News visited the Lewis and Clark heritage sites in North Dakota — both located in Washburn, roughly an hour from the state capital — to give a full showcase of the impact ND had on the expedition, and how a well-placed fort in the wintertime could have been the difference between life and death for the party. Let us bring you on a virtual tour of both the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and the accompanying complete replica of Fort Mandan with some of the best photos taken by our roving reporter.

Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center

Standing near the Lewis and Clark Trail, the Interpretive Center offers a full explanation and timeline of their adventures throughout the United States, with a special focus on the cultures and complications of navigating North Dakota.

For a small admission fee, guests can not only tour the main exhibits dedicated to the Lewis and Clark expedition but multiple extra and touring exhibits that happen to also be featured at the location. A standard trip through the entire building takes roughly 2-3 hours, so there’s plenty of time to make other plans for the rest of the day (particularly plans regarding another location we’ll discuss later).

Here are a few of our favorite images and exhibits from our tour of the Interpretive Center.

The outside of the Interpretive Center, featuring everything you’d expect from a place celebrating the wilderness and history of North Dakota: green grass, a sturdy building, and a Coke machine.
The statue in front of the Interpretive Center feature detailed depictions of Meriwether Lewis, William Clark , and Chief Shekeke of the Mandan. Hopefully, these sculptures are not life-sized.
These silver buffalo feature the names those who have donated at least $300 to the Interpretive Center etched into them. When we hear the term ‘Where the Buffalo Roam’, we did not think that place would be ‘The Lewis and Clark Trail in Medora, North Dakota’… but whatever works for them, we suppose.
A display of some of the supplies that Lewis and Clark may have carried on their travels, including rations and canteens. Offers to taste them to determine if they were ‘still good’ were politely declined by the center staff.
Examples of medical herbs, supplements and tools used during the expedition. The KX team was extremely glad that no rusty bone saws needed to be used during the trip to Medora.
A model of Meriwether Lewis composing his journals. Unbeknownst to him, the hasps of his journal have already been removed….
The translation of Lewis’s journals by Elliott Coues is controversial- he added his own notes and even tore off the hasps of the journal to send to his friends. Evidently, one of those friends was the Interpretive Center, as this metal hasp came directly from the writings of Meriwether Lewis himself.
A life-size sculpted model of a Native American man. According the the memory game on a kiosk in front of the sculpture, the yellow stripes on his arm represent warlike deeds. Our Travel Correspondent got a 5/5 in the memory game because he was convinced the model would spring to life and attack him with the war axe should he score any less.
The expedition of Lewis and Clark isn’t the only major journey to the American West recorded at the center. The journey of Prince Maximillian of Weid and Swiss painter Karl Bodmer, taking place 30 years after the original explorers, is also featured at the center for a limited time.
The primary focus of Maximillian and Bodmer’s exploration was to document the lives and culture of Native Americans. Although they were unable to participate in some festivals, transcription and retellings helped fill the gaps in their knowledge. And as you can probably tell by a few of these specimens, there weren’t many of those gaps to begin with.
Lewis and Clark sent many specimens back to President Jefferson, including rock specimens, mice, and prairie dogs. And before you ask, yes, they were still alive at the time.
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Extra Exhibits

Trading Post: This miniature replica of a trading post on the Missouri River includes information about the customs process, contraband, life in the trading posts, and a recreation of a trade stall and fort post.

A depiction of a trading post like one would see in Fort Mandan. We learned visitors were not permitted to make trades after one guest attempted to offer their child in exchange for a roll of red cloth.

Centennial Farms: This short series of boards and televisions pays homage to North Dakota’s farming heritage with a tribute to the farming styles of the Native Americans, as well as how industry bloomed in the state. There’s also a listing of Centennial Farms allowing visitors to look up any in the state.

You can honor Oscar H. Will’s legacy at the gift shop by purchasing packets of seeds.

Map-Making: This small exhibit is housed in one of the side wings of the center and focuses on the map-making styles of the 1800s. In addition to learning about the type of mapwork that Lewis and Clark themselves practiced, Native American map-making styles and old mapping tools (including telescopes and sextants) are also available to try out.

Clark was noticed to have made many of his maps using the difficult process of Dead Reckoning: a way of making maps that is presumably a lot less cool than it sounds.
A miniature spyglass (in box), compass and sextant . We were unfortunately unable to figure out how the Sextant worked.

Art Gallery

In addition to the many exhibits on display, the center also features a collection of artwork from a variety of mediums by various artists, all depicting the voyages of Lewis and Clark.

“Big White (Sheheke) Greets the Corps of Discovery” by Vern Erickson, 1972, Oil on Canvas.

Your journey into Lewis and Clark’s history doesn’t stop after a visit to the museum, though — there’s still another part to the trip, and thankfully, you don’t have to travel all the way to the Pacific Ocean to get there. A short distance from the center, a historic site offers plenty more to see in the form of a replica of the expedition’s fort in the state, as well as a peculiar tribute to man’s (or explorer’s) best friend.

Seaman Overlook

When you do visit the second part of the experience, you’ll probably want to pass by Seaman Overlook on your way there (in fact, you have to, as it’s directly in front of the parking area). Originally purchased by Merriweather Lewis for $20, Seaman the Newfoundland was explicitly referenced in his journals many times as an integral part of the expedition, helping with hunting and tracking. Seaman is now immortalized as a metal sculpture near the Visitor’s Center, with signs nearby giving more information about the dog, his appearances in Lewis’ journals, and the Newfoundland dog breed as a whole.

The giant statue of Seaman at Seaman Overlook. Even as a huge metal sculpture, he is still an extremely good boy.

While not a main attraction, the overlook is certainly a unique tribute to the explorers’ companion and one that’s great to observe while you’re on your way to Fort Mandan. Speaking of that…..

Fort Mandan/Visitor’s Center

The State Historic Site includes a complete recreation of Fort Mandan, named in honor of their neighbors on the Missouri River. This wood-walled encampment was constructed as a place for the members of the Lewis and Clark expedition to spend the winter months between 1804-1805. The location serves as both an important piece of early North Dakota history and a key location in the complete journey — Fort Mandan is also believed to be the place where the group met up with Sacagawea, wife of interpreter Toussaint Charbonneau.

Interestingly enough, while you may be able to experience what the fort is believed to have looked like, you can’t actually do so in its original location: after their departure westward, the expedition was said to have left the fort to the Mandan people — but when they passed the area on their return journey, it was completely missing, having burnt to the ground at some point. The Missouri River has since eroded the land that the real fort stood on. Instead, the replica (and by proxy, the Visitor’s Center) has been constructed ten miles down the river from what was believed to be the original site.

The Visitor’s Center is already closed for the year, but don’t worry: you won’t be missing out on the experience. Tours of Fort Mandan are still being offered on the site, as long as you are nearby at the right time. In intervals between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (ours began at 1:30 p.m.), tour guides will open the gates to the replica and give guided tours of the history and design of the fort.

While there’s no telling what exactly was in Fort Mandan during the time of Lewis and Clark, the State Historical Society did its best to stock the replica with what would be expected in the area. Some of the most common props you’ll find throughout the fort include period dress, food, weaponry, and tools. The fort is a lot smaller than one would expect, but there are a lot of surprises crammed into the building. If it could fit every single member of Lewis and Clark’s party, it stands to reason there is plenty of room for tour groups.

After some short explanation from the guide, guests are more than welcome to explore and interact with the various replica objects, clothing pieces, and weaponry in the rooms, including multiple cabins, a blacksmith, and a storage area.

Of course, it’s worth mentioning that not all the explorers were actually in Fort Mandan at the same time. Due to guard rotations, tasks, and hunting trips, around half the residents were around at any given moment — even less when the time came to stock up on food. While the rooms were still crowded, they weren’t usually as crowded as intended (an average room was meant to house four explorers, but only featured two beds). Take a look at this journey to the makeshift fort, as we show you everything we managed to find hidden in the holdout space.

The gates of Fort Mandan. Painstakingly created to be a near-perfect replica of the original Fort Mandan…. except for the padlocked gate that needs a Tour Guide’s key to open.
On your way up to the fort from the Visitor’s Center, take a quick peek into this small outdoor blacksmith station.
The courtyard of Fort Mandan, featuring access to every room of the building (most just happen to be behind the camera).
A Swivel Cannon, similar to this one, was brought to the fort in Lewis and Clark’s keelboat, but only continued on until around Great Falls, Montana — where it was deemed too heavy to keep on board. The object was also referred to as a spyglass, a telescope, or a ‘miniature cannon for shooting miniature intruders’ by the KX team before being properly identified with assistance from the State Historic Department.
A tour guide from the visitor’s center educates visitors about the history fort Mandan. At least the man in the gray shirt seems interested.
After the first explanations, guests are welcome to enter and explore the first four rooms of the building. You can also technically go explore the others since nothing’s stopping you, but you should probably wait for the guide to talk about them, just to be polite.
This room has been modeled to have been the one Lewis and Clark themselves stayed in. On the desk, you can find replicas of animal specimens, books, and even the journal of Lewis himself. (Don’t bother opening it — it’s blank!)
An expedition member bunk room, fitting two soldiers in beds. With how uncomfortable the rope and blanket beddings were, we imagine there were still arguments about who got to sleep in the top bunk.
Cramped rooms made it difficult for workers to hide banned items. During the time of the Lewis and Clark Expeditions, playing cards were actually considered contraband for promoting gambling. Can you find the deck hidden in this room? (You probably can. The KX Travel Correspondent is not good at hiding things.)
Curiously, a wooden ladder leads to the upper segments of the rooms of Fort Mandan. What could be up there?
….Nothing, really. But it was worth a look.
There were not many forms of entertainment for soldiers in between shifts, but some of their favorites included playing backgammon, the fiddle, jaw harp, or (secretly) playing cards. If they had a Monopoly board, they probably would been entertained all winter. And still be on the same game by the end, too.
There was no official kitchen or cafeteria at Fort Mandan, so each room needed to fend for themselves when it came to food. The cook in each bunk was determined by whichever explorer was able to make edible food. In winter circumstances, one imagines beggars couldn’t be choosers.
There was even a miniature blacksmith and ironworks in Fort Mandan. For a time, smithing demonstrations were held here until recently, presumably because they realized live fires and hot iron were a mistake in a wooden fortress during hot summers.
It was widely thought that Sacagawea carried her infant son on a cradleboard like this one during the entire journey west. ‘Pomp’, later known as Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau, would later grow up to be an explorer, scout in the Mexican-American War, and mayor of the San Luis Rey de Francia Mission among other exploits. It appears that greatness ran in the family. Maybe he absorbed it through being on his mother’s back for so long?
A showcase of the vegetables that were eaten during the Fort Mandan winter. It is unlikely they are the same vegetables, thankfully (but technically not impossible). We would still advise against eating them.
A storage room, featuring a display of items that were commonly used in trade with Native Americans (now represented by plastic versions).
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Those who are curious about the Lewis and Clark expedition, and especially their time in North Dakota, should absolutely make a stop at both the Interpretive Center and the Fort (purchasing access to one also grants you free access to the other, so why wouldn’t you?). Anyone nearby may appreciate a visit to the center, at least, to see the models and art on display. If you happen to be in the area or searching for a weekend day trip, take a little expedition of your own into Washburn for a unique taste of North Dakota history.

Admission to both historic sites is $8 for adults and $5 for anyone under 15. Children 5 and under are free. Lodge classrooms and picnic shelters are also available for rent by calling 701-462-8535 for reservation services.

For more information about the Interpretive Center, Fort Mandan, or Lewis and Clark’s travels in North Dakota, contact Fort Mandan at Icic@nd.gov or by calling 701-462-8535, or the State Historical Society of North Dakota via email at history@nd.gov or on the phone at 701-328-2666.