A Trip To This Little Known Ancient Ruin In North Dakota Is One In A Million
The North Dakota plains are loaded with hundreds of years of history. From the times of Lewis and Clark’s expeditions to way, way before that, there are special sites all over the state that preserve these historic spots. One in particular is little known but deserves a spotlight for having one of the most unique and fascinating ruins you’ll have ever seen. Take a look for yourself:
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Head out to Stanton, North Dakota to discover fascinating ruins left hundreds of years ago at the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site.
This historic site is home to unique ruins of what was once a huge and thriving village. Today, the remains of that village can be seen by the unusual circular depressions on the ground that are clustered in a few different sites.
The circular depressions in the ground that can be viewed today were once all earth lodges. The Knife River Indian Villages Historic Site has recreations of these lodges you can explore and enter yourself to see what life was like back then.
These villages were established over 500 years ago and were important trade hubs for many Native American tribes including the Hidatsa, Mandan, Arikara, and later Sioux, Cheyenne, Crowe, and more. It was even in these villages that Sakakawea lived and met with Lewis and Clark.
Today, you can visit the historic site, take trails out to the village ruins, and learn about this influential and important history of the North Dakota plains. There is no other place you can visit quite like it and it is truly one in a million!
You can visit the Knife River Indian Villages Historic Site at 564 County 37, Stanton, ND 58571. Click here for more information about the site, visiting hours, and events.
There are only artistic depictions showing what these villages looked like when they thrived centuries ago, but luckily with the advent of the camera we can take a glimpse back into some more recent history. Check out some of North Dakota’s history in photographs here.
Leah moved to North Dakota when she was 12 years old and has traveled from the Red River Valley to the badlands and many places in between. She loves small-town life and currently enjoys living on a small farm in the ND prairie. She's always had a passion for writing and has participated in novel writing challenges such as NaNoWriMo multiple times. Her favorite part about this job is recognizing small businesses that deserve a boost and seeing the positive affect her articles can have on their traffic, especially in rural areas that might have otherwise gone overlooked.
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