Mandan

History

The city was named after the historic indigenous Mandan of the area. The Mandan are now part of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, spanning the upper Missouri River in the western part of the state. Their people also live in cities of the state and other areas. In the 2010 census, nearly 5% of the people in Mandan identified as Native American. The Mandan Indian village at the southern base of Crying Hill prominent in east Mandan was recorded as early as 1738 and called Good Fur Robe, after their chief. The settlement was also recorded as Crying Hill and Two Face Stone, after their corresponding geographic features. It was one of six Mandan villages on the west riverbank between the Knife and Cannonball Rivers. The credit for the city's incorporated name is a point of debate. John Andrew Rea arrived across the river in Bismarck in 1876 to serve as temporary editor of its newspaper during one of its founder's extended absences. Rea subsequently served as the register in the governmental land office in the territorial capital of Bismarck for eight years starting in June 1880. Rea claimed he and Northern Pacific Railroad engineer Thomas L. Rosser created the name. He wrote to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, which published and popularized the name that remains in use today. But the more generally accepted story credits the city's name to Frederic Gerard. Gerard had married Helena Catherine, an Arikara/Ree woman when he ran the Fort Berthold trading post. Gerard was appointed by the Dakota Territorial governor as Morton County's first assessor when it was established in March 1878. He was one of the first three men elected as a Morton County Commissioner in November 1878. While Native Americans had long established settlements in the area along…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (1.08%) is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  3,425
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,909
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,412
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,280
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,158
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,946
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,900
• Common Grackle

  Quiscalus quiscula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,867

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2008-11-15
  6 km ESE of Goodrich, North Dakota