Backstage Pass to North Dakota History

This blog takes you behind the scenes of the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Get a glimpse at a day-in-the-life of the staff, volunteers, and partners who make it all possible. Discover what it takes to preserve North Dakota's natural and cultural history.

Medora From the Air

The town of Medora is a gem of western North Dakota, but how much do you really know about the person it was named for? An exciting exhibit opening later this month at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum celebrates the accomplishments, fascinating life, and artistic skill of the town’s namesake, Medora Manca.

Medora von Hoffman was an American heiress from New York when she married into French aristocracy, and her history has often been eclipsed by that of her more flamboyant husband, Antoine Amédée Marie Vincent Manca Amat de Vallombrosa (commonly known as the Marquis de Morès). In addition to learning about the often-overlooked life story of Medora (the person), visitors will have the opportunity to view more than two dozen of her spectacular watercolor paintings. Many of these watercolors were painted between 1883 and 1886, and some are publicly displayed for the first time in the exhibition.

These two images of Medora from the upcoming exhibit celebrate the duality of her background, that of a wealthy heiress and an adventurous spirit living in Dakota Territory during the years 1883-1886. SHSND SA 00097-00038, 00042-00081

Medora painted landscapes and scenes around their home at the time, the Chateau de Morès (now a state historic site). The scenes were painted outdoors (“en plein air” in French), and many of the landscapes and buildings depicted will be familiar to visitors acquainted with the rugged beauty of the Badlands.

The Little Missouri River, the city of Medora, and Theodore Roosevelt National Park are all visible in this image captured via an uncrewed aerial vehicle operated by agency staff in June 2025.

State Historical Society of North Dakota archaeologists recently conducted research in Medora related to a military encampment (called a cantonment) that housed soldiers guarding the early railroad being built in the area. The cantonment was active from 1879 to 1883. The research we’re doing is helping document the former location of the cantonment in advance of a planned project.

To accomplish this, researchers are using historical documents, field research, geophysical remote sensing equipment, and uncrewed aerial vehicles (or drones). The work is a cooperative project of the State Historical Society and the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation. The research and analysis are ongoing, and we continue to learn more.

Above left: Troops stand in formation in front of a barracks located at the Medora cantonment in this 1880 photograph. Note the Badlands landscape visible in the background of this historical photo. H-00305b, Montana Historical Society Library & Archives, Helena, Montana
Above right: An image of that same location from June 2025.
Below: Architectural plans of the cantonment barracks from 1879. National Archives (photo no. 205135316)

The research location also provided an opportunity to try to replicate some of the vantage points Medora used while painting these watercolors. Aerial photography with the drone allows us to consider the beauty of the rugged landscapes around Medora (the city) and to appreciate them as Medora (the artist) may have. Her paintings document a significant period of history in North Dakota, and her skill as an artist is impressive!

The author and colleague Erica Scherr use an uncrewed aerial vehicle to capture images around Medora, June 2025. The Little Missouri River, the Chateau de Morès State Historic Site, and the town of Medora are all visible in the background.

In June 2025, Historic Preservation Specialist Erica Scherr and I captured drone images that will be paired with several of Medora’s watercolor paintings from the exhibit. The images depict many of the same Badlands landmarks visible in Medora’s 1880s artwork. The perspectives are shifted slightly, as she obviously didn’t paint from the same height as a drone. But you can still get a sense of the relationships among objects and the landscapes that Medora Manca experienced as she painted.

Left: Watercolor of the Chateau de Morès and nearby outbuildings by Medora Manca. SHSND 1972.91
Right: A State Historical Society drone image of the same location, June 2025.

Left: Watercolor painting landscape by Medora Manca. SHSND 1982.29.73
Right: State Historical Society drone image of the Chateau de Morès, June 2025. Note the Badlands formations depicted in the painting above are visible in the background. View is to the east.

Aerial photography is a valuable tool that allows us to both document the history of Medora (the city) and appreciate how Medora (the artist) interpreted the beauty of western Dakota around her. A view of the area from the air is a unique way to further appreciate Medora’s adventurous spirit and admire the way she expressed herself through art.

Recent Donations Sport Their Team Spirit

This past year has been big for sports memorabilia! The State Historical Society of North Dakota has accepted numerous donations for the state museum collections that include sports equipment, trophies, uniforms, and team jackets. Many of our own staff members have donated items from their time or their family member’s time participating on local recreational or school teams. Here are just a few new sports-related donations.

1. Women’s Softball Helmet
This helmet belonged to Isabelle Forde, the donor's daughter. Forde played fastpitch softball for Bismarck High School from 2018 to 2023. While wearing this helmet, she played third base and outfield on the junior varsity teams that won Western Dakota Association tournaments in 2019. Later when she was on the varsity team, Forde participated in the 2022 state championship game where they won the school’s first championship in softball.

Helmet donated by Laura Forde, former education manager at the State Historical Society. SHSND 2024.23.1

2. Ice Hockey Equipment 
Tom Chase, a gallery guide with the State Historical Society, played hockey from the 1970s through the early 1980s. Chase was born with cerebral palsy, but he did not let that stop him from playing hockey like his older brothers. “I had an idea that I could have a brace made for my skate so that I could play,” Chase recalls. Sometime in the 1970s, he asked Amiot Prosthetics in Grand Forks to retrofit his skates with a brace. He played hockey with those skates for the next 10 years.

Chase donated the goalie equipment he wore while competing on the junior varsity team in high school, the Grand Forks Park Board league, a few years in a city league, and in an intramural league at the University of North Dakota.

Goalie pads, gloves, mask, and skates with brace on left skate. SHSND 2025.43

3. Bismarck Youth Hockey Uniform and Equipment 
This full set of youth ice hockey equipment was well used by donor Truman Turnbow during the 2020 Bismarck Hockey season. He played wherever the coach needed him, both offense and defense, but usually preferred defense. His father noted that the players’ gloves famously smelled awful. The smell was so bad that the coach gave permission to players to ward off opponents by simply holding up their gloves—a sure way to end any scuffle! It became a ritual after every game to hang the gloves up to air out.

Inside the front pocket of Turnbow’s roller bag, we also found a ChapStick (used for greasing the snaps on his helmet), contact lenses, Band-Aids, and rolls of athletic tape—everything a prepared player needs for a game or practice.

Helmet, shoulder pads, home jersey, stick, and roller bag used by Truman Turnbow. Additional roller bag contents include elbow, leg, and knee pads, shin guards, gloves, away jersey, home and away socks, and skates with camo guards. SHSND 2025.53

4. Bismarck Youth Hockey Jacket
The agency’s Exhibit Production Manager Bryan Turnbow, father and coach to the previously mentioned Truman Turnbow, also played hockey. He wore this jacket throughout his time participating in the Bismarck Youth Hockey Club from 1984 to 1987.

Bismarck Youth Hockey jacket. SHSND 2025.55

5. Letterman Sweater
This sweater belonged to Clifford “Kip” Stites, father-in-law of donor Nancy Guy. He grew up in Havana, North Dakota, and graduated from Havana High School in 1931. This was a big milestone because Stites and his siblings were the first in their family to graduate from high school. He played basketball and was a team captain, indicated by the star on both the sleeve and patch. The stripes on the letter represent the number of years competed or “letters” won. This is similar in some ways to military chevrons.

Havana High School was part of a large school reorganization plan for Sargent County in the 1950s and 60s. The high school joined the Sargent Central Public School District in 1969 and officially closed its doors in 1984.

Havana High School letterman sweater and additional patches. SHSND 2025.48

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