Fort Buford State Historic Site

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Fort Buford State Historic Site ,
15349 39th Lane NW,
Williston, ND 58801
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Fort Buford State Historic Site preserves remnants of a vital frontier plains military post established in 1866 to protect overland and river routes used by immigrants settling the west. Located near the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers southwest of present-day Williston, it served 29 years as a major supply depot for military field operations. Fort Buford played a vital role as the place where the famous Hunkpapa Sioux leader, Sitting Bull, surrendered.

Original features include a stone powder magazine, the post cemetery site, the officer of the guardhouse and the field officers' quarters which now houses a museum. Interpreters provide tours through the field officers' quarters and the reconstructed barracks. The 6th infantry reenactors raise the flag Memorial and lower it Labor Day to end the summer season. Through History Alive programs, these reenactors also depict what life was like for  soldiers and laundresses.

Located one-half mile east of the fort, the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center tells the story of the confluence of these two mighty rivers, as well as provides the same magnificent view that Lewis and Clark Expedition members enjoyed when they visited in 1805 and 1806. The rotunda area includes three large murals featuring quotes from the Lewis and Clark Journals, and paintings of the Missouri River landscape by Colonel Philippe Régis de Trobriand, commanding officer of Fort Stevenson near present-day Garrison, N.D., in the late 1860s.

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All Features

  • Activities
    • Self-guided Tours
  • Facility Amenities
    • Historic Marker,
    • Restrooms
  • General Information
    • Family-Friendly
  • Location
    • Countryside

47.987672, -104.000619

Fort Buford State Historic Site

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