May is National Historic Preservation Month. Today, we’re highlighting some of the historic places listed in North Dakota’s State Historic Sites Registry.
In 1925, as part of a push to promote tourism in the United States, the Great Northern Railway organized the Upper Missouri Historical Expedition. The effort included plans to reconstruct Fort Union near Fort Buford in Williston.
As part of this campaign, a series of memorial celebrations were held at Verendrye and Fort Union in North Dakota, and later at Meriwether in Montana. These events honored several early “Pathfinders of the Northwest.” Invitations were designed to resemble formal proclamations and were signed by the governors of North Dakota and Montana, along with members of both states’ historical societies.
David Thompson was among those honored on July 17. An explorer and fur trader, he was the first European to navigate the full length of the Columbia River, one of his most notable achievements. On his first trading assignment, he worked to establish an alliance with the Mandan and Hidatsa at the mouth of the Knife River. During this time, he mapped the Northwest Company’s posts and their relation to the American border. His surveys produced the first reliable map of the region, stretching from the west bend of the Souris River to the western shore of Lake Superior. Lewis and Clark later used this map during their expedition.
Governor Sorlie and other state officials attended the unveiling of a monument shaped like a sphere, provided by Ralph Budd, president of the Great Northern Railway.
On July 1, 1967, the site was added to the State Historic Sites Registry. Today, the David Thompson State Historic Site honors his legacy. Located northeast of Velva, the site overlooks the Souris River Valley. A granite globe sits atop a rectangular base, bearing an inscription to David Thompson, geographer and astronomer, who “passed near” this location in 1797 and 1798 during his expeditions.
Dakota Datebook by Sarah Walker
Sources:
- https://www.history.nd.gov/historicsites/thompson/
- https://www.nps.gov/fous/learn/historyculture/first-advocates.htm
- Bismarck Tribune, July 18, 1925, p1
- Bismarck Tribune, June 23, 1925, p3
