Fort Mandan State Historic Site is temporarily closed for maintenance until further notice.
Permanent Galleries
State-of-the-art exhibits and hundreds of period artifacts make the story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition vivid like never before. The expedition, brainchild of President Thomas Jefferson, was far more than adventure–it was a quest for knowledge. The exhibit shows how Lewis & Clark sought to connect the then-unknown interior of North America with the Enlightenment.
As the Enlightenment unfolded in Europe and the Eastern states, other explorers followed in Lewis & Clark's footsteps. Among the most prominent are German Prince Maximilian zu Wied and Swiss painter Karl Bodmer. The 81 aquatints they published are among the most valuable visual documents of the American West, and from the Center's complete collection, many of these are on display on a rotating basis.
Our First Farmers, particularly the women of the Mandan and Hidatsa nations, built powerful farming economies that made this area a vital commercial crossroads. This farming history stretches back nearly a thousand years and has connections with the homestead era through present day.
The villages of the Mandan and Hidatsa were burgeoning trading centers for generations before Euro-Americans visited the upper Missouri. Eventually, enterprises such as the American Fur Company established fur trading posts near these villages to exchange manufactured goods for furs. Our Fort Clark exhibit relates the cultural impact of the steamboat era of the fur trade on the Northern Plains.
Temporary Art and History Galleries
Two galleries feature rotating art and history exhibits, with a special emphasis on the cultural and artistic heritage of the Northern Plains. Check back often to see what's new!
Address:
2576 8th Street Southwest
Washburn, ND 58577
Get Directions
Summer Hours (May 1-September 30:
Daily, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Winter Hours (October 1-April 30)
Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Contact LCIC:
phone: 701.462.8535
email: lcic@nd.gov
Contact SHSND:
phone: 701.328.2666
email: history@nd.gov
