Fort Totten

11 Must-See Historic Sites in North Dakota

North Dakota has a storied past, shaped by the legends of indigenous people, historical trailblazers, hard-working immigrants and peoples. Their legacy endures to this day. Here are 11 historically significant sites in North Dakota.

Pembina State Museum
Pembina State Museum

Discover 100 million years of regional history from the Cretaceous Age to contemporary times in the permanent exhibit gallery. Museum also features temporary exhibit gallery, museum store, seven-story viewing tower, meeting room rentals and tourist information.

Bagg Bonanza Farm
Bagg Bonanza Farm

One of the last remaining bonanza farms in the U.S. The centerpiece of the 15-acre farm is a fully restored 21-bedroom main house. National Historical Landmark.

Stutsman Courthouse
Stutsman County Courthouse

The oldest surviving courthouse in North Dakota is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building is considered a superb but rare example in the Upper Midwest of the Gothic-Revival style of architecture.

215 5th St NW
Jamestown, ND 58401
United States

Fort Totten
Fort Totten State Historic Site

The fort was built in 1867 by soldiers protecting the Totten Trail, an overland route which extended across Dakota Territory from southern Minnesota to the goldfields of western Montana. It also served as an Indian boarding school until 1935.

Group tour at Fort Mandan
Fort Mandan State Historic Site

Take a step back in time when you visit the reconstructed Fort Mandan, the winter home of the Lewis & Clark Expedition from 1804-1805. The fully-furnished quarters bring to life what it was like for the brave men in the Corps of Discovery during that North Dakota winter over 200 years ago.

Fort Abraham Lincoln
Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park

General George Custer's last home is reconstructed, as are the central barracks, granary, commissary and a stable. Tours take visitors back to 1875, the year before the 7th Cavalry rode to the Little Bighorn. Tour of On-A-Slant Indian Village's five reconstructed earthlodges.

Dinosaur viewing at the ND Heritage Center
North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum

From a life-size T. rex skeleton cast to a Mars spacesuit to exhibits of rare pottery and beadwork, there's history for everyone at the recently expanded North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum. Thousands of artifacts and specimens, high-tech displays and interactive exhibits.

Oscar Zero
Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile State Historic Site

Two sites telling the story of the Cold War years in North Dakota: Oscar-Zero Missile Alert Facility and the November-33 Launch Facility. They are the last remnants of the 321st Missile Wing, a cluster of intercontinental ballistic missile launch sites that were spread over a 6,500-square-mile area.

Chateau de Mores State Historic Site
Chateau de Mores

This 26-room, two-story frame building was built in 1883 as the summer residence of the Marquis de Mores and his family. The Chateau is now a historic house museum.

fort union
Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site

The principal fur trading post of the American Fur Company on the upper Missouri River near the confluence with the Yellowstone. Served Assiniboine, Crow, Cree, Ojibway, Hidatsa and Blackfeet tribes.

Knife River
Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site

Native Americans occupied this area for more than 11,000 years. Remains of three Hidatsa villages with 210 depressions at the site. Home of Sakakawea when she met explorers Lewis and Clark, modern museum, visitor center and movie.