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Dinosaurs, Sharks, and Wooly Mammoths: Glimpses of Life in North Dakota’s Prehistoric Past
North Dakota History, Vol. 73, No. 1 & 2, 2006
With the updated Dakota the Dinomummy exhibit premiering in October at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum, it is a good time to revisit our favorite paleontology issue of North Dakota History. The issue encapsulates a century of paleontological research in North Dakota and gives an overview of life in our state during the past 500-plus million years. Written by former North Dakota Geological Survey paleontologist John Hoganson, it is a companion piece to the Adaptation Gallery: Geologic Time at the State Museum, where many of the fossils described are on exhibit.
Read about North Dakota's prehistoric past.
Purchase the issue from the Museum Store.
Read articles from other issues of North Dakota History.
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State Historic Sites Begin Winter Hours
Camp Hancock State Historic Site, Bismarck. Grounds are open year-round. Buildings open by appointment.
Chateau de Morès State Historic Site, Medora. Tues.-Sat., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. MT; last tickets sold at 4 p.m. MT.
Former Governors’ Mansion State Historic Site, Bismarck. Oct.-May, second combined Friday and Saturday monthly, 1-5 p.m., or by appointment.
Fort Abercrombie State Historic Site, near Fargo. Open by appointment only through Oct. 31.
Fort Mandan State Historic Site, Washburn. Through Sept. 30, Mon.-Sun., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Oct. 1-March 31, guided tours leave from Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center.
Fort Totten State Historic Site, near Devils Lake. Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Grounds are open year-round.
Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, Washburn. Through Sept. 30, Mon.-Sun., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Oct. 1-March 31, Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center, near Williston. Wed.-Sat., 9 a.m.-4 p.m. CT, Sun., 1 p.m.-5 p.m. CT. Closed Mon.-Tues.
Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile State Historic Site, Cooperstown. Sept. 7-Nov. 1, Sun., 1-5 p.m., Mon., Thurs., Fri., and Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and tours by appointment; Nov. 1-April 1, tours by appointment only.
North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum, Bismarck. Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Pembina State Museum, Pembina. Through Sept. 30, Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sun., 1-5 p.m.; Oct. 1-Apr. 30, Tues.-Sat., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Stutsman County Courthouse State Historic Site, Jamestown. Open by appointment
Closed Until Spring
Fort Buford State Historic Site, near Williston
Welk Homestead State Historic Site, near Strasburg
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Country Schoolhouse Project Expanded
In 2009, the State Historical Society asked the public to help document the country schoolhouses remaining on our landscape. Several individuals provided information about schools, but Kathy Wilner, known in many parts of the state as "The School Lady," has compiled information on over 650 country schools. This past summer, Archaeology and Historic Preservation Department staff reviewed files within the ND Cultural Resource Survey Collection and added 224 country schoolhouses to the webpage.
Learn more about the Country Schoolhouse Project.
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Read Our Blog
Dakota the Dinomummy: Millenniums in the Making
Dakota the Dinomummy is returning to the ND Heritage Center & State Museum on Oct. 16! Learn about Dakota's journey from the time the fossil was removed from its case in November 2019 until its return. The updated exhibit will include new interpretive signs with references and fresh discoveries to help make Dakota more relevant and understandable. One especially cool feature will be a tactile component allowing visitors to touch a 3D model of Dakota’s skin. We are excited because for most of us this is likely the closest we will ever come to encountering a “real” dinosaur.
Read this blog!
Subscribe to our blog, and you will never miss the new posts.
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Consolidating Rural Schools Has Long History
Many of us remember when there were many more rural schools throughout the state. Consolidation of rural schools is not a new concept. "The Rural School Problem in North Dakota," published on May 25, 1916, in The Nonpartisan Leader, claimed that country schools were 20 years behind city schools. The story lamented that most attempts to remedy the problem had consisted of "talk and yet more talk,” but that the most progress was being made through the consolidation of schools. Read the article.
The next year, on July 12, 1917, the same newspaper published "Making Schools Better," which praised Ransom County as a national leader in improving rural schools, having consolidated to 12 schools what before had been “35 or 40” one-room schoolhouses. The movement to provide a rural education that was as good as a city education was in full swing, with one-room schoolhouses being replaced with large schoolhouses. Read the article.
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North Dakota Studies: Geology and Time
Geologic time helps us understand the processes of evolution, the origins of Earth, and how North Dakota (and the rest of the world) was formed. The layers of rocky sediment lying below the surface, and sometimes exposed, represent events that took place over time. Understanding these events gives us perspective on our place in the universe as well as more practical information such as where to look for coal and oil. This concept of time explains why the Badlands are so different from the Red River Valley. Each was created in a different epoch and by different geologic events. This history is written in stone.
Learn about Geology and Time on the North Dakota Studies website.
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Enjoy Upcoming Fall Events at State Museums & Historic Sites
Sept. 16 Confluence History Book Club, 7 p.m., Fort Buford State Historic Site near Williston
Sept. 17 Friday Farmers Market, 4-7 p.m., Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, Washburn
Sept. 17-18 Confluence Sewing and Quilting, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Fort Buford State Historic Site near Williston
Sept. 18 Little Kids, Big World: Homesteading in North Dakota, 2 and 3 p.m. ND Heritage Center & State Museum, Bismarck
Sept. 18 Twilight Hike and Fort Mandan Candlelight Tour, 7-8:30 p.m. Fort Mandan State Historic Site, Washburn
Sept. 18 17th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day. Visit the website to learn more.
Sept. 24 Friday Farmers Market, 4-7 p.m. Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, Washburn
Sept. 25 Little Kids, Big World: It's Harvest Season! 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum, Bismarck
Sept. 26 Sensational Sunday: Cotton Wood concert, 2 p.m. ND Heritage Center & State Museum, Bismarck
Save the date: Oct. 27, Webb Space Telescope Community Event, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. ND Heritage Center & State Museum, Bismarck
For information on these and other programs sponsored by the State Historical Society of North Dakota, go to history.nd.gov/events.
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The State Historical Society of North Dakota oversees the State Museum, the Pembina State Museum, and 57 historic sites. Our mission is “to preserve, interpret, and promote the heritage of North Dakota and its people.”
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