August Activities Planned at Chateau de Morès State Historic Site

MEDORA, N.D. – The public is invited to attend free activities promoting fun and learning for adults and children this summer at the Chateau de Morès State Historic Site. Two new programs have been added—StoryWalk® and Wednesdays for Kids. Wagon rides are also available for a fee. All times are Mountain time.

History Alive. Weekends through Sept. 3, Saturdays at 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.; Sundays at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. Hear eyewitness accounts of adventures experienced by Medora’s founding family and their friends. Sharing stores are German immigrant Felix Gollnick, Aug. 5-6; a CCC veteran, Aug. 12-13; the Marquis de Morès, Aug. 19-20; and Medora, Aug. 26-27; These free 30-minute museum theater performances are based on original letters, diaries, and other documents, many from the State Archives of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

StoryWalk®. Daily, through Labor Day. Visit Chimney Park in Medora and read a great book. A new title is installed along the strolling path every two weeks, compliments of the Chateau de Morès State Historic Site. The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont, and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. StoryWalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ferguson.

Wednesdays for Kids. Wednesdays through Aug. 30, 2-3 p.m. Children of all ages are invited to the Chateau to play games, make crafts, and explore history through hands-on activities. Registration is not required. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Wagon Rides. Fridays-Sundays, afternoons through Sept. 9. Call for specific times. Earlier ride times are available when requested in advance. The Chateau de Morès State Historic Site, in partnership with Jason Langarud at Luxury Carriages, is offering wagon rides through the site’s pristine bottomlands. The ride takes 30-40 minutes and follows part of the original road from Medora to the Chateau. Purchase tickets at the Chateau de Morès Interpretive Center through 5 p.m. Tickets are $20/adult, $15/child, and $15/military member. Group rates are available.

The Chateau de Mores State Historic Site includes an 1883 home and an interpretive center. Inside the Interpretive Center, see wagons and coaches that once traveled the same path as the wagon ride. Learn about the Medora friendship and friction between homeowner Marquis de Morès and future president Theodore Roosevelt. Experience an exhibit prototype from the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. The historic home offers insight into the lives of Medora’s namesake and her husband, the French Marquis de Morès.

The Chateau de Morès is a state historic site managed by the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Chimney Park in Medora is part of the site. The Chateau de Morès site and Interpretive Center near Medora are open daily, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. MT, through Labor Day. For more information, contact Site Supervisor Anna Killian at 701.623.4355. Find a calendar of upcoming State Historical Society events at history.nd.gov/events.