This Tiny, Isolated North Dakota Village Is One Of The Last Of Its Kind
North Dakota has a rich history that goes far beyond its statehood or even being a part of the Dakota Territory. For centuries this land has been lived in by thousands of people. Many of the cities and towns in this state were founded in the late 1800s and sprang up when the railroad came through, but there are still some remnants of the villages from before that time. They are quite rare now and only a few still exist. Luckily for us, North Dakota has one standing that you can visit and explore for yourself. Take a look:
The On-A-Slant village in Mandan, North Dakota is one of the last remnants of the earth lodge villages of the Mandan people. It is located right on the edge of the Heart River.
This village was believed to be constructed sometime around 1575, over 300 years before North Dakota became a state. During that time, it might have had up to 75 of these earth lodges - the mounds you see in the picture below - and a population of 1000 people.
The lodges that stand here today were reconstructed accurately to show what the original village looked like. When it still stood, there may have been up to nine separate villages along the river.
The lodges have the kind of items they may have had back in the day to accurately depict what life was like for the Mandan when they lived here. Animal skins, furs, and pottery were all things they were skilled at working with.
On-A-Slant village is such an interesting place to see a piece of North Dakota's history and imagine what it was like back then, as shown in the diorama located at the village below. You won't find any villages like this anymore, but this particular site has luckily been preserved.
The On-A-Slant village is located in the Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park at 4480 Fort Lincoln Road, Mandan, North Dakota. You can find more information on how to visit by clicking here.
Have you ever visited here? It’s certainly beautiful in the fall as you can see in one of the pictures. That entire state park is stunning year round. Did you know that it also has North Dakota’s only running trolley? It will take you through the park near places like this village and more.
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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.
