Gingras Day Activities to be Held at Gingras Trading Post State Historic Site

PEMBINA, N.D. – Gingras Day will be held at Gingras Trading Post State Historic Site on Saturday, Sept. 3, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The site buildings will be open for self-guided tours.

A hands-on activities program, Games of Pembina’s Past, includes activities for all ages and features historical games played throughout the day.

At 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., “Red River Rendezvous,” a family-friendly, hands-on fur trade activity will have participants taking on the roles of 1800s fur trade groups. Teams barter and trade goods from the era as they learn about consumer goods and necessities from 200 years ago, their historic value, and how the items were used.

At 1 p.m., Steve Martens, NDSU professor emeritus and architectural historian, will present "Métis Cultural Heritage and Red River Frame Construction: Lessons Learned From 50 Years of Hands-on Material Culture Study.” The talk will summarize ongoing maintenance repair activities and what has been learned . Martens will also present on the hand-wrought, customized special tools used in the reconstruction work provided by contractor Kobiela Brothers Construction.

Martens currently serves as board president of the North Dakota State Historical Board and was the recipient of North Dakota’s 2020 Heritage Profile Honor Award. He has completed a comprehensive survey and analysis of North Dakota Depression-era work relief construction, co-authored the book "Buildings of North Dakota," authored 37 successful National Register nominations, contributed articles to the Encyclopedia of the Great Plains and Encyclopedia of Rural America, and also supports the preservation and renovation of the 1885 former Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Lakota.

Gingras Trading Post State Historic Site is located 1.5 miles northeast of Walhalla and is managed by the State Historical Society of North Dakota. The grounds with outdoor interpretive signs are open year-round. For more information about this site and upcoming events, go to history.nd.gov/events.