One Of The Bloodiest Battles In North Dakota History Happened At This Historic Site
By Leah|Published July 14, 2019
×
Leah
Author
Leah moved to North Dakota when she was 12 years old and has traveled from the Red River Valley to the badlands and many places in between. She loves small-town life and currently enjoys living on a small farm in the ND prairie. She's always had a passion for writing and has participated in novel writing challenges such as NaNoWriMo multiple times. Her favorite part about this job is recognizing small businesses that deserve a boost and seeing the positive affect her articles can have on their traffic, especially in rural areas that might have otherwise gone overlooked.
North Dakota’s history is a fascinating one. As a relatively younger state, a lot of the older history happened while it was still part of the Dakota Territory. From the days of the Native Americans to the European pioneers and later settlers, there are many stories from across the prairie. There were a handful of battles across the state, and one, in particular, has gone down in the record books as one of the bloodiest, most brutal battles ever – and you can visit where it happened.
The Whitestone Hill State Historic Site can be found just outside of Kulm, North Dakota, on the shores of a small lake.
The infamous hill is dotted with white stones, making the name very fitting. Today it is an empty, grassy field, but in 1863 it was the site of a Sioux tipi camp. It is estimated there were a few thousand people in the camp, most of them women and children.
The battle was brutal, and today you can see the monument that was erected to honor the fallen Sioux people. Hundreds were killed or taken prisoner, and the rest forced to flee. Additionally, 22 US soldiers were killed and more wounded.
Today, the historic site offers a way for visitors to see where this took place and to learn the history. They have built new tipis to stand where the originals did over a century ago. Admission is entirely free, so it's perfect for an educational, fascinating family outing.
There is a picnic shelter and space to enjoy a packed lunch outdoors as you take in the significance of this area. Though it may have been the site of a deadly battle, today it is a site for learning about the people who lived here and the state's history.
To learn more about this historic site, click here. You can also visit its official Facebook page to see upcoming events and interesting tidbits about its past.