Dr. Frederick J. Walsh and his wife moved to North Dakota in 1952. He took a position as the head of the speech department at North Dakota Agricultural College, now North Dakota State University. Walsh came to North Dakota with a dream. He wanted to bring historical drama to his new state. He came at a good time. North Dakotans were looking for a suitable way to acknowledge the Theodore Roosevelt Centennial. They asked Walsh to help Thomas Patterson write “Old Four-Eyes” for the celebration. Forty thousand people came to see the drama the first year.
The success of the show in Medora inspired the citizens of Mandan. They founded the Mandan Historical Development Association. They thought they could mount a historical drama of their own to boost tourism in Mandan. Walsh collaborated with Patterson and W.T. Chichester to write “Trails West,” about Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry. Walsh planned to produce the production in Fargo while the Association tackled the task of building the set in Mandan. They wanted it to be similar to what Medora was doing, but bigger. The Association boasted that the amphitheater, which seated 2,000 spectators, was built on the actual trail that Custer and the 7th Cavalry took to Little Big Horn. Local citizens and organizations raised $75,000 for the first season.
Attendance was disappointing. Tourists came to the spectacular, but locals did not seem interested. On this date in 1962, the Association evaluated finances and announced the show had lost $6,000 that season. The Association appointed three new directors. Even with the approaching centennial of the famous battle, local support for the production was lackluster.
The following summer, the production was further plagued by vandalism. The perpetrators were found and made restitution, but the Association was discouraged. The Mandan Development Corporation took over for the Association in 1962 and suspended the Custer drama. The Corporation investigated other options, such as having NDSU or a foundation take over, but all options fell through. A Bismarck playwright sought to revive the drama in 1986, but funding was not forthcoming and the project was scrapped.
Dakota Datebook by Carole Butcher
Sources:
- Bismarck Historical Society. “It Happened in Bismarck.” http://www.bismarckhistory.org/ithappenedinbismarck/november/ Accessed 10/16/2023.
- Mandan Historical Society. “The Trail West Outdoor Custer Drama, 1959-1968. http://www.mandanhistory.org/areahistory/custerdramatrailwest.html. Accessed 10/16/2023.
- Historical Sturgis. “Trail West: Reviving the Custer Myth.” https://historicalsturgis.com/trail-west-reliving-the-custer-myth/ Accessed 10/16/2023.
