Visit the North Dakota Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center Near Washburn

As my wife and I were planning our trip to the west a few years ago, we wanted to make sure that we included some of the sites where the Lewis and Clark Expedition stayed on their journey. Our trip, by the way, coincided with the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the expedition. One must stop was the North Dakota Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center near Washburn, ND, located about 38 miles north of Bismarck. Bismarck has a center where the visitor can gain a sense of the North Dakota territory when Lewis and Clark traveled through it.

The Interpretive Center is housed in a beautiful building in front which stand 12-foot tall statues of Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and Chief Sheheke of the Mandan Indian tribe. During the winter of 1804-05, the expedition was quartered at Fort Mandan. Although the original fort is now gone and, according to Wikipedia, may never be known, a replica has been built about two miles from the Interpretive Center.

The purpose of the Interpretive Center is give an overview of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, focusing particularly on the winter spent at Fort Mandan. Visitors can get a feel of what life at the fort must have been like by exploring the replica. While my wife and I visited the site in the summer, we got an idea of the living conditions that the expedition members experienced during the hard North Dakota winter.

At the center itself, there are exhibits-some, such as a genuine buffalo robe that visitors can try on, are hands-on. Others, such as a wood canoe carved from the trunk of a cottonwood tree, illustrate the work that Lewis and Clark's men undertook during the winter as they looked ahead to the continuation of their journey after their winter's rest. A neat touch at the center is a small "herd" of metal buffaloes outside on the grounds.

A recent addition to the Center is the Fort Clark Exhibit. Fort Clark was built in 1830 as a trading post. According to the Center's website, the fort became a center for the working out of relationships between the early white Americans and the local Indian tribes. The exhibit, says the website, "presents the history of the mighty steamboats, frontier trade and Native American culture that saturated this region."

A special feature at the center is the Bergquist Gallery, one of only four galleries in the world to have a complete collection of the prints of Karl Bodmer, a Swiss painter who focused his efforts on recording the American west.

The North Dakota Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center is a great place to deepen your knowledge of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. You will also gain a deeper appreciation of the courage it took to be part of that journey of exploration.

Sources:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Mandan
www.lewisandclarktrail.com/section2/ndcities/BismarckMandan/InterpretiveCenter/index.htm