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Skirting the Missouri and Heart rivers, the land that Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park occupies has been a historic crossroads for Native Americans, trappers and explorers for hundreds of years.
Once occupied by the Mandan tribe, the site served as a stopover for traders and trappers traveling on the Missouri River, the Lewis and Clark expedition, a frontier army and legions of settlers.
Established in 1907 by President Theodore Roosevelt, Fort Abraham Lincoln is North Dakota's oldest state park. The Civilian Conservation Corps built the museum, earth lodges, blockhouses, shelters and roads, and placed cornerstones to mark buildings at the infantry and cavalry post. General George Armstrong Custer’s home along with the Post Commissary, Granary and Soldiers Barracks have been reconstructed.
The ruins of the Mandan's On-a-Slant Village are also in the park. This village was occupied from the mid-1600s to the mid-1700s. The Mandan, or "Nu'Eta," were a peaceful people who grew corn, beans and squash and also traded grain, tobacco and pelts with other tribes.
At one time the village contained 68 earth lodges. Reconstructed lodges may be toured by visitors. During summer, history programs and guided tours recreate the Mandan lifestyle.
Smallpox epidemics and attacks by other tribes forced the Mandan to abandon the village. When the Lewis and Clark expedition camped near the site in 1804, they noted the abandoned village in their journals.
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