History of the Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation
Forty years after local settlers dismantled Fort Lincoln for the wood and nails in 1892, the federal Civilian Conservation Corps came to restore some things. They built blockhouses and earthlodges, fieldstone buildings and palisades, and considered but did not rebuild the Custer House. In the 1950s an organization formed to rebuild it, but failed. The idea didn't go away.
In 1982, in the old Lewis and Clark Hotel in Mandan, a group formed to try again. By 1989, they opened the doors to the house, with soldiers in uniform guiding visitors on a time-trip to 1875.
Today the Foundation operates the finest living history program on the Northern Plains from five restored 7th Cavalry buildings and five rebuilt Mandan Indian earthlodges. It operates two gift shops and is involved in heritage tourism regionally and nationally. |