May 25, 2022
 

Camp Hancock State Historic Site to Celebrate 150th Anniversary

BISMARCK, N.D. – Camp Hancock State Historic Site will join in the citywide History and Mystery Scavenger Hunt on May 28 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Staff will be on hand to verify participants who complete the scavenger hunt at the historic site and hand out Golden Tickets. Visitors can enjoy cookies and lemonade. Camp Hancock and the Former Governors' Mansion State Historic Site, on August 14, are two of six locations participating in the History and Mystery Scavenger Hunt. Admission to both historic sites is free.

Camp Hancock opens to the public on May 27 with summer hours Friday-Sunday, 1-5 p.m. The historic site is planning a variety of summer events in celebration of Bismarck’s and the camp’s 150th anniversary season.

The location for both Camp Hancock and Edwinton (Bismarck’s original name) was surveyed in 1872, in anticipation of the Northern Pacific Railway’s arrival. Camp Hancock was an early military supply depot. The former officers' quarters, built in 1872, is the oldest standing building in Bismarck. Inside, visitors can view exhibits about local history and the U.S. Weather Bureau once housed here. The 1881 Bread of Life Church on the grounds is the oldest church in the city. A 1909 steam locomotive offers a glimpse into the past as today’s trains thunder by behind it. Archaeological findings show that Native Americans camped here thousands of years before Europeans arrived in the area.

Camp Hancock is a historic site managed by the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Camp Hancock summer hours are Friday-Sunday, 1-5 p.m. For more information, contact Johnathan Campbell at 701.328.9528. Find additional upcoming programs sponsored by the State Historical Society at history.nd.gov/events or call 701.328.2666.

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CONTACT
Johnathan Campbell, 701.325.9528
 

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