Pembina, North Dakota.

On our way to Winnipeg, as we approached the U.S. Customs and Canadian Border Entry at the state’s most used border crossing, I noticed a building with a seven-story tower just north of Exit 215, the Pembina exit. We were to discover that the building belongs to the North Dakota State Historical Society and is one of two state museums, the other of which is located near the State Capitol in Bismarck. The Pembina Museum features exhibits focusing on the region. The oxcart and fur in the opening image focuses on life in the 18th and 19th centuries when fur trading was a prime business. Pembina, with it’s close proximity to the Red River of the North became a scene of international politics and a gateway of commerce between Canada and the United States.

Taxidermy exhibits of regional wildlife like the beaver in the image above demonstrate the variety of pelts that were bought and sold by the fur traders in the region. Many of these traders settled in the area and opened trading posts leading to the incorporation of Pembina and other towns along the Red River.

The image above features two other mammals prized by the fur traders, on the left, an American marten or prime marten. Occasionally the martens are mistaken for minks because they are of similar size and color. The other mammal featured in this display is the fisher. It is larger than a marten though both are members of the weasel family. Their fur, like the marten and mink, is highly valued by the fur industry.

Native people from several groups included the Ojibwa, Dakota, Assiniboine, and Cree nations hunted buffalo and gathered food from plants, mostly berries, in the area. An exhibit describing the lives of these early residents is featured in the museum.

With the coming of the European traders, many of whom met and married native women, a blend of cultures began. The Métis figured prominently in the politics of both the Dakota Territory in the United States, and Manitoba, Canada. I remember during my college days sitting in a Canadian History class and I was fascinated by the history and culture of this region.

One of the images featured in the museum is the Northern Boundary Commission, a group of British and Americans who had the responsibility of surveying the international boundary from the Lake of the Woods in Minnesota to the Rocky Mountains. In 1818, it was decided that the 49th parallel would be the border line. This commission went to work in 1872 to actually define and survey the boundary. Though the latitude line was a convenient number to use, the artificial division created other issues. For example, the line divided Native Americans who previously had moved around the region without regard to an artificial boundary. It also changed the political landscape around watershed issues.

At the museum, one of the gallery rooms features a display of folk art by artists of the northern great plains. I enjoyed reading several of the descriptive wall plaques and looking at the items in this exhibit.

Prior to the advent of the railroad, shipping in the region was developed along the Red River to facilitate commerce between Winnipeg and Minneapolis. The era of steamboats on the Red River began in 1859. Steamboat travel on the Red was relatively short-lived and the completion of tracks joining the St. Paul and Pacific line and the Canadian Pacific railroads in 1879 eventually led to the demise of freight hauling by steamboat on the Red River. I found a post on the North Dakota State University (NDSU) library website that provided an interesting side read for me as I researched for this post. You can read that article here.

On the day of our visit, the main entrance was closed. They were putting the finishing touches on a concrete pour for the main sidewalk. As a centerpiece on the sidewalk, an outline map of the Red River “flows” from the parking area to the main entrance. Had we visited the next day, we would have been able to use the new sidewalk.

If you are still reading this, you may have wondered why I haven’t posted any photos from the top of the observation tower. The view from there, I’m told, is commanding and features a birds eye view of the community of Pembina and the neighboring Canadian and United States farmlands. Though we were offered to view from the top, we declined. It was a dreary and somewhat foggy day. From the top of the tower, there wouldn’t have been that much to see.

If you are traveling I-29 to or from Canada, a break at the border for a couple of hours of regional history would be an interesting diversion that is certainly above a typical rest area information center. The facility is open daily. Museum hours and other details are posted on their website here.

John Steiner