Camp Hancock State Historic Site!

What Is Camp Hancock State Historic Site?

Camp Hancock State Historic Site preserves and interprets the place where Bismarck, North Dakota was born!

What Makes It Historical?

As the Northern Pacific Railway pushed across the Plains between Minnesota and Washington, the company brought in the 17th US Infantry (Companies D and H) to protect the workers and supplies! When established on April 16, 1872, it was called Camp Greeley after New York Times editor, Horace Greeley, then renamed a year later to Camp Hancock, after commander of the Department of Dakota, George Winfield Hancock! Here, the camp and the tiny town of Edwinton that rose up around it stood watch over the railroad for five years before becoming a supply depot for nearby Camp Abraham Lincoln. It remained a military post until April 16, 1894, exactly 22 years!

During this time, Edwinton had grown into a city called Bismarck, which became capital of the new state of North Dakota in 1889! As the military left Camp Hancock, the Bismarck Weather Station moved into the old supply depot and from here made predictions about wind, precipitation, and barometric pressure all the way until 1940!

Today, this historic park is a hodge-podge of important structures, from that old supply depot to retired Northern Pacific Locomotive #2164 to St. George’s Episcopal Church, moved here in 1965 from a spot half a mile to the north!

How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?

Volunteer with the State Historical Society of North Dakota!
Donate to the State Historical Society of North Dakota!
Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!