Laurence had to go to Beulah, North Dakota for work. Since I can work for Queen Bee anywhere I decided to tag along. We have made this trip several times, but this time we made a few extra stops. One of the fun stops was in Hebron, ND. It is the home of Hebron Brick and Fort Sauerkraut. We didn’t get to Fort Sauerkraut, but we did drive through Hebron Brick. FASCINATING!
The city of Hebron was established in the 1880s in what was known as the Dakota Territory and was formed into a village government in 1885. It was incorporated in to a city in 1916. Hebron grew to its highest population of 2,000 in the mid 1950s and now is a town of about 900 nestled in a peaceful valley 2 miles north of Interstate 94 in southwestern North Dakota.
Shortly after European settlers began arriving in western North Dakota, Charles Weigel and Ferdinand Leutz established Hebron Fire & Pressed Brick Company in 1904. Demand for building supplies was flourishing, and by 1905 Hebron Brick hit full production, competing with 18 similar brick businesses.
Today, Hebron Brick Company is the oldest manufacturing operation in North Dakota and the only manufacturer of brick in remaining in North Dakota and one of the most successful brick companies in the Upper Midwest. Their ancient veins of extraordinary clay continue to yield a distinctive variety of colors.
This site was once home to several villages of Hidatsa and Mandan Indians, with a population of 3,000 - 5,000 people. This site stands above the Missouri floodplain, on the site of what was the largest and most sophisticated village of the interrelated Hidatsa, Mandan, and Arikara tribes. These villages are where Lewis and Clark obtained the services of Sakakawea and her husband Charbonneau. Visible remains of earthlodge dwellings, cache pits, fortification ditches and travois trails are in an extraordinarily fine state.
A highlight of the park is an earth lodge, reconstructed using traditional materials. Measuring over 50 feet across, and 12 feet high at its central smoke hole, the earth lodge looks exactly as it would have when the likes of George Catlin and Karl Bodmer were welcomed by the villagers during the 1830s. Just north of the earth lodge spread circular depressions in the soil—which are all that remains of the Hidatsa community where, in 1804, the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery was joined by the French fur-trapper Charbonneau and his wife, Sacagawea.
If you follow the trail there is a little walk of about 1 1/2 miles to the banks of the Missouri. The river is pretty low right now, but it had lots of ducks etc. I can't believe that I've never taken the time to make this little trek when I've come with Laurence before......
"I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota" - Theodore Roosevelt
Last year he and his brother found a really nice telephoto lens at a pawn shop in Wyoming.... maybe there's a macro lens waiting for me this year..... It could happen.....
We had a really fun afternoon! We ate Chinese, went to a junk/second hand shop, went to the feed store AND to the hardware store.... Hey I never said we didn't know how to party!!
