Custer's Last Ride LbNA #50463
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Jun 12, 2009 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Mandan |
| County: | Morton |
| State: | North Dakota |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Planted by: | Dutch Rabbit  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | sherry robbins boone |
| Last found: | Jun 19, 2018 |
| Status: | FFFFF |
| Last edited: | Jun 12, 2009 |
Custer’s Last Ride
This letterbox is placed just north of Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, which remembers the historic fort and local Indian villages. It was from this fort in 1876 that Custer led the 7th Cavalry on their final campaign, ending at the Little Big Horn.
For more on the history and the park, here are two sites:
http://www.parkrec.nd.gov/parks/flsp.htm (the official state park site)
http://www.fortlincoln.com/default.aspx (the site of the supporting foundation)
If you have the time, I highly recommend visiting the park, although it can be pricey (more below). You can visit the Custer House (the restored residence of Lt Col Custer and his wife), the Mandan “On-a-Slant” Indian village, the blockhouses of the infantry post on the bluffs above the river, as well as assorted other buildings and sites. The park has interpreters to lead you through various parts of the park. If the settlement of the west and/or military history interests you, then this is a great stop. My favorite part: go up to the bluffs to the infantry post, and climb to the roof of one of the blockhouses – the view is spectacular.
The “On-a-Slant” village may be particularly interesting if you enjoy learning about Native American culture, as the Mandan were very different from most Plains tribes. The Mandan were not nomadic nor did they live in teepees. Instead, their culture was agriculturally based, their settlements were permanent, and they lived in round earth lodges. This and the other villages in the area were a hub for a continent-wide trading network, but you can learn more about that when you visit.
To get to the park, continue south on Hwy 1806 from the letterbox. After a mile or so, you’ll pass a new Veterans Cemetery, and the park entrance will be on your left just beyond the cemetery. The entrance fee the day we went was $5 per vehicle, plus an additional $8 per adult and $4 per child (kindergarten and above) if you want to take the interpretive tours. That’s a lot, but even on a short visit, we thought it was worth it. (The pricing was not explained to us at the gate. Apparently if you do not want to go to the Custer House or the Indian Village, you only pay for parking.)
CLUES: to find “Custer’s Last Ride”
To get to the letterbox, you need to head south from Mandan, ND on Hwy 1806, which is also known as 6th Avenue SE while it’s still in Mandan. At the intersection of 6th Avenue SE and 3rd Street SE, you’ll see a traffic light and the “Stage Stop” liquor store on the SW corner. Continue south about 2.5 miles from this intersection on Hwy 1806 (also called Pleasant Valley Rd south of town). Slow down and look for an intersection with Ft Lincoln Rd on the left. Turn left on to this road and continue south until it ends at a fence. Park where you can, but don’t block the driveway on the west side. (This road used to be the north entrance to the park, but now is used as a walking/biking path.)
Walk about half-a-mile south on the path to the park entrance marker. If you want to continue to the park after you find the letterbox, just keep on walking for about a mile. With your back to the entrance marker and facing back down the hill to where you parked (north), walk about 25 yards and you’ll be even with an oak tree on your right (the one closest to the road in that spot). Walk around behind the tree (away from the path) and look among the trunks forming the center of the tree. The stamp is a rendering of one of the blockhouses you can see at the park. Please do your best to re-hide the box using whatever materials are available. And watch out for pedestrian and bike traffic; it was very busy the day we went.
This letterbox is placed just north of Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, which remembers the historic fort and local Indian villages. It was from this fort in 1876 that Custer led the 7th Cavalry on their final campaign, ending at the Little Big Horn.
For more on the history and the park, here are two sites:
http://www.parkrec.nd.gov/parks/flsp.htm (the official state park site)
http://www.fortlincoln.com/default.aspx (the site of the supporting foundation)
If you have the time, I highly recommend visiting the park, although it can be pricey (more below). You can visit the Custer House (the restored residence of Lt Col Custer and his wife), the Mandan “On-a-Slant” Indian village, the blockhouses of the infantry post on the bluffs above the river, as well as assorted other buildings and sites. The park has interpreters to lead you through various parts of the park. If the settlement of the west and/or military history interests you, then this is a great stop. My favorite part: go up to the bluffs to the infantry post, and climb to the roof of one of the blockhouses – the view is spectacular.
The “On-a-Slant” village may be particularly interesting if you enjoy learning about Native American culture, as the Mandan were very different from most Plains tribes. The Mandan were not nomadic nor did they live in teepees. Instead, their culture was agriculturally based, their settlements were permanent, and they lived in round earth lodges. This and the other villages in the area were a hub for a continent-wide trading network, but you can learn more about that when you visit.
To get to the park, continue south on Hwy 1806 from the letterbox. After a mile or so, you’ll pass a new Veterans Cemetery, and the park entrance will be on your left just beyond the cemetery. The entrance fee the day we went was $5 per vehicle, plus an additional $8 per adult and $4 per child (kindergarten and above) if you want to take the interpretive tours. That’s a lot, but even on a short visit, we thought it was worth it. (The pricing was not explained to us at the gate. Apparently if you do not want to go to the Custer House or the Indian Village, you only pay for parking.)
CLUES: to find “Custer’s Last Ride”
To get to the letterbox, you need to head south from Mandan, ND on Hwy 1806, which is also known as 6th Avenue SE while it’s still in Mandan. At the intersection of 6th Avenue SE and 3rd Street SE, you’ll see a traffic light and the “Stage Stop” liquor store on the SW corner. Continue south about 2.5 miles from this intersection on Hwy 1806 (also called Pleasant Valley Rd south of town). Slow down and look for an intersection with Ft Lincoln Rd on the left. Turn left on to this road and continue south until it ends at a fence. Park where you can, but don’t block the driveway on the west side. (This road used to be the north entrance to the park, but now is used as a walking/biking path.)
Walk about half-a-mile south on the path to the park entrance marker. If you want to continue to the park after you find the letterbox, just keep on walking for about a mile. With your back to the entrance marker and facing back down the hill to where you parked (north), walk about 25 yards and you’ll be even with an oak tree on your right (the one closest to the road in that spot). Walk around behind the tree (away from the path) and look among the trunks forming the center of the tree. The stamp is a rendering of one of the blockhouses you can see at the park. Please do your best to re-hide the box using whatever materials are available. And watch out for pedestrian and bike traffic; it was very busy the day we went.