Fort Clark Trading Post State Historic Site was once the home to a

Mandan The Mandan are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains who have lived for centuries primarily in what is now North Dakota. They are enrolled in the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation. About half of the Mandan still re ...

and later an

Arikara Arikara (), also known as Sahnish,
''Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation.'' (Retrieved Sep 29, 2011)

settlement. Over the course of its history it also had two factories (trading posts). Today only archeological remains survive at the site located eight miles west of

Washburn, North Dakota Washburn is a city in southern McLean County, North Dakota, United States. Located along the upper Missouri River, it is the county seat of McLean County. The population was 1,300 at the 2020 census. Washburn was founded in 1882 near the form ...

, United States.

History

In 1822, the

tribe built a settlement with earth-covered lodges on the bluffs of the Missouri River. In 1830, a representative of the American Fur Company built Fort Clark Trading Post south of the village. The first steamboat to journey up the upper-Missouri River was the ''Yellowstone'' which arrived in 1832 carrying 1,500 gallons of goods and liquor.

George Catlin George Catlin (July 26, 1796 – December 23, 1872) was an American adventurer, lawyer, painter, author, and traveler, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the Old West. Traveling to the American West five times during the 183 ...

visited in 1832, and

Karl Bodmer Johann Carl Bodmer (11 February 1809 – 30 October 1893) was a Swiss-French printmaker, etcher, lithographer, zinc engraver, draughtsman, painter, illustrator and hunter. Known as Karl Bodmer in literature and paintings, as a Swiss and French c ...

and

Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied Prince Alexander Philipp Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied (23 September 1782 – 3 February 1867) was a German explorer, ethnologist and naturalist. He led a pioneering expedition to southeast Brazil between 1815–1817, from which the album ''Reise na ...

stayed the winter of 1833-1834. In 1837, the steamboat ''St. Peters'' docked at the village carrying passengers infected with

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

, and sparking the

1837 Great Plains smallpox epidemic The 1837 Great Plains smallpox epidemic spanned 1836 through 1840, but reached its height after the spring of 1837 when an American Fur Company steamboat, the S.S. ''St. Peter'', carried infected people and supplies into the Missouri Valley.''Ratio ...

.''Rationalizing Epidemics: Meanings and Uses of American Indian Mortality Since 1600''; David S. Jones; Harvard University Press; 2004; Pg. 76 As the disease swept through the village, it wiped out approximately ninety percent of the inhabitants. In 1838, the nearby

Arikara Arikara (), also known as Sahnish,
''Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation.'' (Retrieved Sep 29, 2011)

tribe moved into the abandoned village. In 1850, another trading post was built by Charles Primeau. In 1851, a cholera outbreak occurred and then a smallpox outbreak in 1856. When an attack by the

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, ...

happened in 1861, the fort was permanently abandoned.

Historic site

Most of the site has been owned by the state since 1889. A total of in two sections of the state historic site were listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1986 as Fort Clark Archeological District. and More than 2,200 features on the surface from the ruins of houses and graves still exist. Lodge depressions are also visible along with an unmarked cemetery with more than 800 graves. The site is operated by the North Dakota State Historical Society.

External links

Fort Clark Trading Post website
{{NRHP in Mercer County, North Dakota

References

Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in North Dakota Clark Pre-statehood history of North Dakota Protected areas of Mercer County, North Dakota North Dakota State Historic Sites Trading posts in the United States Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in North Dakota National Register of Historic Places in Mercer County, North Dakota American Fur Company 1830 establishments in the United States Forts along the Missouri River Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation

History

Historic site

See also

External links

References