Bismarck River Warehouse

One of the largest river warehouses of the 1870s stood here when river transportation was of primary importance. Served by a spur track of the Northern Pacific Railway, it operated during a time when, until the railroad was built west of Bismarck, the steamboat was the principal method of transportation to the West. As many as 20 steamboats were often moored at the wharf, carrying supplies to military posts and pioneer settlements. Steamboat traffic ran on the Missouri River from St. Louis to the head of navigation at Fort Benton, Montana, and on the lower reaches of the Yellowstone River. Steamboat navigation formed one of the most colorful phases of North Dakota history.

Bismarck, North Dakota · United States