Old Indian Spontoon - Private Collection

Fort Clark, North Dakota

In 1822, the Mandan tribe built a settlement with earth-covered lodges on the bluffs of the Missouri River. In 1830, a representative of the American Fur Company built Fort Clark Trading Post south of the village. The first steamboat to journey up the upper-Missouri River was the Yellow Stone which arrived in 1832 carrying 1,500 gallons of goods and liquor. George Catlin, Karl Bodmer, and the German Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied all visited the site and stayed the winter of 1832-1833. In 1832, the steamboat St. Peters docked at the village carrying passengers infected with smallpox. As the disease swept through the village, it wiped out approximately ninety-percent of the inhabitants. In 1838, the nearby Arikara tribe moved into the abandoned village. In 1850, another trading post was built by Charles Primeau. In 1851, a cholera outbreak occurred and then a smallpox outbreak in 1856. When an attack by the Dakota happenned in 1861, the fort was permanently abandoned
Fort Clark and its Canon	Troops Quarters
The Forge	Officer's Room

Assiniboine Spontoon, Mid 1700's

Assiniboine Tipis
PO Box 649 Lundar, MB R0C1Y0
Phone: (204) 762-5523
Canada
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