Verendrye National Monument

Last updated

Verendrye National Monument was a federally protected area in the U.S. state of North Dakota from 1917 to 1956. In the latter year it was withdrawn as a national monument. It is located in southwestern Mountrail County, west of the city of New Town. It lies within the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.

This 101-hectare monument was established on June 29, 1917, to commemorate the explorations of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye and his sons in North Dakota and the area of the upper Missouri River. The father was a French-Canadian explorer and fur-trader intent on finding an overland water route to the Western Ocean. Between 1731 and 1737 he built several trading posts between Lake Superior and Lake Winnipeg, assisted by his four sons and a nephew. In 1738 he and son François travelled southwest to what is now North Dakota, arriving in December at a Mandan village a day's journey from the Missouri River. On that trip Vérendrye established two forts, Fort Rouge and Fort La Reine, in what is now Manitoba. Other forts built to the north and west by people under his command created a large area in the west for French traders.

In 1742 two of his sons (probably Louis-Joseph and François) made another expedition to the Missouri. Because of the difficulty of identifying places and Native American tribes in their reports, there is no certainty as to the route they took or how far they travelled, but they may have been the first European explorers to view the Rocky Mountains. This was more than 60 years before the expedition of Lewis and Clark.

It was on this 1742-43 expedition that the Vérendrye brothers were thought to have camped at Crowhigh Butte (now called Crow Flies High Butte) in North Dakota. This 565 foot high butte dominates the surrounding plains and is an ideal vantage point. In 1917 the state historical society was instrumental in getting the butte and surrounding area proclaimed a national monument. A plaque at the monument reads:

The Verendrye National Monument. Established June 29, 1917. To commemorate discovery of this area in 1742 by the Sons of Verendrye, celebrated French explorer. Crowhigh Mountain was used as an observation station to spy out unknown land farther west. In 1738 the elder Verendrye and one son made a trip to within a day's journey of the Missouri River, and were the first white men to enter what is now North Dakota. This was in the course of a journey from Verendrye's trading post in Manitoba, Canada, in an effort, which was unsuccessful, to reach the western sea by an overland route.

However, later opinion suggested that the site was inaccurately located. On July 30, 1956, the site was withdrawn as a national monument and transferred to the State of North Dakota. Much of the original site has since been flooded by a reservoir (Lake Sakakawea).

Ironically, new research indicates that Crow Flies High Butte may indeed be the site where the Verendryes climbed to view the Little Missouri Valley in 1742.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye</span> 18th-century French Canadian military officer, fur trader and explorer

Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye was a French Canadian military officer, fur trader, and explorer. In the 1730s, he and his four sons explored the area west of Lake Superior and established trading posts there. They were part of a process that added Western Canada to the original New France territory that was centred along the Saint Lawrence basin.

La Vérendrye, La Verendrye or Verendrye may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1738 in Canada</span> List of events

Events from the year 1738 in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve</span>

La Vérendrye wildlife reserve is one of the largest reserves in the province of Quebec, Canada, covering 12,589 square kilometres (4,861 sq mi) of contiguous land and lake area. It is named after Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye, a French-Canadian explorer. Located 180 kilometres (110 mi) north of Ottawa, it is traversed from south to north by Route 117.

The Vérendrye stone was allegedly found on an early expedition into the territory west of the Great Lakes by the French Canadian explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye, in the 1730s. It is not mentioned in the official records of La Vérendrye's expeditions, but in 1749 he discussed it with visiting Swedish scientist Pehr Kalm, from whose writings virtually all information about the stone is taken.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye</span>

Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye was a French Canadian fur trader and explorer. He, his three brothers, and his father Pierre La Vérendrye pushed trade and exploration west from the Great Lakes. He, his brother, and two colleagues are thought to be the first Europeans to have crossed the northern Great Plains and seen the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye</span>

Jean-Baptiste Gaultier de la Vérendrye was the eldest son of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye and Marie-Anne Dandonneau Du Sablé. He was born on Île Dupas near Sorel, New France

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre Gaultier de La Vérendrye</span>

Pierre Gaultier de La Vérendrye de Boumois was the second son of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye. An explorer and fur trader who served many years under the command of his father, he was born on Île aux Vaches, near Sorel, New France.

François de La Vérendrye was a Canadian explorer. He was the third son of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye. He was born at Sorel, New France in 1715 and was active in his father's trade activities from Fort Kaministiquia to the North Saskatchewan River.

Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre was a Canadian colonial military commander and explorer who held posts throughout North America in the 18th century, just before and during the French and Indian War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort La Reine</span>

Fort La Reine was built in 1738 and is one of the forts of the western expansion directed by Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye, first military commander in the west of what is now known as Canada. Located on the Assiniboine River where present day Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, stands, the fort served as a fur trading post. It was also the base of operations for much exploration north and west. From Fort La Reine, explorers made their way to Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipegosis, Lake Winnipeg and the Saskatchewan River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Maurepas (Canada)</span>

Fort Maurepas was the name of two forts, or one fort in two locations, built by the French in the Lake Winnipeg area in the 1730s. They were both named after Jean-Frédéric Phélypeaux, Count of Maurepas who, as Minister of Marine, was in charge of French colonies and chief adviser to King Louis XVI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1736 in Canada</span>

Events from the year 1736 in Canada.

Fort Rouge was a fort located on the Assiniboine River in Manitoba, Canada, on the site of what is now the city of Winnipeg. Its exact location is unknown. Its name in English means "red fort".

La Verendrye Provincial Park is a waterway provincial park located in Ontario, Canada, on the border of Minnesota, United States. The park stretches from Quetico Provincial Park through Saganaga Lake, up the Pine River, across the Height of Land Portage, then down the Pigeon River to Pigeon River Provincial Park on Lake Superior. The park is named after Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye an early explorer of Canada.

René Gaultier de Varennes is best known in Canadian history as being one of the early governors of Trois-Rivières, Quebec and the father of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye, a famous Canadian explorer and fur trader. Part of the Ancien Régime, the Gaultier family of aristocrats came from the Anjou area of France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacques de Noyon</span>

Jacques de Noyon was a French Canadian explorer and coureur des bois. He is the first known European to visit the Boundary Waters region west of Lake Superior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Verendrye Site</span> United States historic place

The Verendrye Site is an historical archaeological site off Verendrye Drive in Fort Pierre, Stanley County, South Dakota, United States. Now a small public park, it is the place where the La Vérendrye brothers, the first known Europeans to explore this area, placed a lead plate bearing the crest of France, to claim the territory for their homeland, during their 1742-43 expedition to the Rocky Mountains.

The Vérendrye brothers were the first Europeans to cross the northern Great Plains and see the Rocky Mountains (1742–1743). We know very little about their journey. All we know comes from a journal found in the French archives in 1851 and a lead plate commemorating the journey which was found in 1913 buried near Pierre, South Dakota. The journal and lead plate are difficult to interpret. The journal states the trip may have been made by the "Chevalier Vérendrye and one of his brothers" who are otherwise unidentified. Most likely the Chevalier was Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye and the brother was François de La Vérendrye but we cannot be sure. The mountains they saw during their expeditions may have been the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming, but could also have been the Black Hills or the Laramie Mountains

The La Vérendrye Trail is a series of highways in the Canadian province of Manitoba commemorating the oldest waterway fur-trading route in the province. It is named after Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye, an explorer and fur-trader who is often credited as being the first European to visit what is now southern Manitoba.

References

Coordinates: 47°58′57″N102°32′43″W / 47.9825°N 102.54528°W / 47.9825; -102.54528