Fort Union National Historic Site

Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site, 23 miles from Williston, North Dakota on the Montana border, is a beautiful and educational place to spend a fall afternoon with the family.

We made the trek over on Sunday afternoon with our four children and had a good time exploring the buildings, checking out the displays in the Bourgeois House, and roaming through the grounds.

A trading post that operated from 1828 to 1867, Fort Union was one of the most vital on the Missouri. Seven Northern Plains Indian tribes traded furs for goods such as cloth, blankets, guns, blankets, cookware, and beads. The post traded over 25,000 buffalo robes and $100,000 of merchandise each year of its operation.

The post has been partially reconstructed, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961. It is a great way to remember a period in American history where two cultures found common ground.

Park rangers are on hand to share the history of the site, and the location is often home to a variety of reenactors. (Check it out in June when history buffs converge on the area for the Rendezvous!)

After we climbed up the stairs to the lookout at the top of the fort wall, two of our daughters looked out over the Missouri River. 

Learning about the buildings that once stood in this part of Fort Union, which was made up of stores for a variety of purposes.

As we have mentioned in other posts, the Passport to National Parks has been one of our favorite investments. Here are our stamps from the visit -- one from Fort Union and one representing Lewis and Clark.

The view of Fort Union from the pathway up from the parking lot.

Walking through the front gate of Fort Union, looking at the flag pole and Bourgeois House. The area in between this door and the next one is a trading room, which allowed for trading without bringing outside people into the fort itself.

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