MANDAN Historical Society

Working to Preserve & Promote Mandan's Heritage since 2004

Welcome

Membership

Activities

Ag Stn Centennial

History Harvest

TR-Coe Exhibit

WWII Exhibit

Museum & Office

Area History

Book: "Mantani"

The 1880s

Mandan Rodeo / Fair

School System History

The 1890s

The 1900s

1901 Pan Am Expo

1903 TR Visit to NDak

The 1910s

1910 Spring Flood

1911 Fair & Airplane Demo

1912 TR Whistle-Stop

The 1920s

Prohibition in Mandan

Mail Order Kit Homes

The 1930s

FDR Visit August 1936

The 1940s

The 1950s

1958 Lincoln Stamp FDC

Custer Drama / Trail West

The 1960s

The 1970s

The 1980s

The 1990s

1st of the 21st

2010-Present

Area Landmarks

Cary Bldg - Mandan Drug

CCC Camp Chimney

Christ the King Church

Collins Av Civic Bldg

First Lutheran Church

First National Bank Bldg

First Presbyterian Church

Great Plains Academy

Great Plains Expermt Stn

Lewis & Clark Hotel

Mandan Hill

Mandan Theatre

MV Produce Warehouse

Methodist Church

NP Beanery

NP "Colonial" RR Depot

NPRR Freighthouse

NP Rail High Bridge

Roughrider Statue

St Joseph Church

WWar Memorial Bldg

Youth Correctional Center

Gone Forever

Central School

Collins Ave Courthouse

Cummins Building

Deaconess Hospital

Eielson Field

Emerson Inst/Opera House

First St Federal Building

Havana Club

Hotel Nigey

InterOcean Hotel

Liberty Memorial Bridge

Mandan Creamery & Produce

Mandan Flour Mill

Merchants Hotel

NP "Queen Anne" Depot

Original Passenger Depot

Palace Theatre

Peoples' Hotel

Rock Haven

Topic Theatre

Young's Tavern

Heritage Homes

Altnow-Smith Home

Dunlap-Harris Home

Ellis-Uden Home

Freeburg-Esser Home

Lyon-Weigel Home

McGillic Home

Olson-Brick Home

Parkins-Cooley Home

Stutsman-Wyatt Home

Swanson-Reichman Home

Welch-Ness Home

Endowment Fund

Genealogy Links

Biographies A-C

J D Allen

Franklin Anders

Richard Baron

James Bellows

George Bingenheimer

Margaret Bingenheimer

Philip Blumenthal

Elijah Boley

Frank Briggs

Leo Broderick

William Broderick

Frank Bunting

Lyman Cary

James Clark

Henry Coe

Viola Boley Coe

Daniel Collins

Elizabeth Custer

George Custer

Biographies D-L

Alice Dahners

Henry Dahners

C E V (Charles) Draper

Esther Davis

Tony Dean

Joseph Devine

Ronald Erhardt

John Forbes

Palma Fristad

Gilbert Furness

Aloysius Galowitsch

Frederic Gerard

Zalmon Gilbert

Charles Grantier

James Hanley Jr

James Hanley Sr

Mary Harris

C Edgar Haupt

Michael Lang

William Langer

Albert Lanterman

William Lanterman

Richard Longfellow

Rolland Lutz

Hiram Lyon

Biographies M-R

George Marback

Gary Miller

Lee Mohr

Margaret Naylor

John Newton

Anton Ness

John Osterhouse

George Peoples

Arthur Peterson

Nels Romer

Hoy Russell

Walton Russell

Antonie Rybnicek

Ervin Rybnicek

Hynek Rybnicek

Biographies S-Z

Margaret Schaaf

George Shafer

Benjamin Shaw

William Simpson

Anna Knox Stark

Mary Stark

Benjamin Stephenson

J O Sullivan

John Sullivan

Era Bell Thompson

Andrew E Thorberg

Ida Thorberg

C L Timmerman

George Toman

Earle Tostevin

Edwin A Tostevin Sr

Edwin D Tostevin Jr

Walter Tostevin

Felix Vinatieri

A B Welch

Levon West

Frank Wetzstein

Harry Wheeler

Philomena Yunck

View Collections

Artifacts - Miscellanous

Newspapers

Pottery and Glass

Photos - Buildings

Photos - Downtown

Photos - Floods

Photos - People

Photos - Rail and Trains

What's New

The Trail West Outdoor Custer Drama 1959-1968
A dramatic telling of the story of Custer, the 7th Cavalry, life at Ft. Abraham Lincoln during the post Civil War years, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn staged outdoors each summer at the Custer Memorial Amphitheater starting in 1959 through 1968.

The original production called "Trail West" was written by W. T. Chichester and Frederick G. Walsh. Walsh was instrumental in starting operations at the Burning Hills Amphitheater in Medora, ND with his drama "Old Four Eyes" highlighting the life of Theodore Roosevelt. This production was the predecessor to the "Medora Musical" which continues in production today. Walsh was approached in 1958 by Mandan's Chamber of Commerce to write a play for use at Ft. Lincoln.

The drama boasted the distinction of being located on the exact trail used by General Custer and the men as they left the Fort on May 17, 1876.
 
Click to Enlarge
In 1961, Bert Pettey completed a major rewrite of the original script.  Starting in with the summer of 1962, the play was referred to as "The Custer Drama."  The first year, the production was directed by co-author William Chichester.  From 1960 through 1962, George Poletes directed.  Other directors included JoAnn (Feldhusen) Zoller from 1963 to 1965 and Winston Miller from 1966-1968.

In 1961, the "Centennial Players" supplemented offerings by staging a production of "Dracula" at the midnight hour after regular performances of the Custer Drama.  Persons showing a medical card with AB negative blood-type were admitted free.
 

Postcard Image of Custer Memorial Amphitheater c. 1964
Tryouts were held each spring at the World War Memorial Building (current City Hall) to fill the roles for 80 cast members.  The 2000-seat amphitheater equipped with a 110-foot stage hosted the event from July 1 through Labor Day with performances on Wednesday through Sunday each week.  Professional actors from cities such as Duluth and Chicago were recruited for the half dozen lead roles.  The budget for the production in 1959 was $75,000 ($555,000 in 2010 dollars) which was raised by local merchants, citizens, fraternal and civic organizations.
Actors protraying 7th Cavalry staff SHSND 00053-12
Staged Indian Camp of The Custer Drama SHSND 00053-13
Actors protraying Libbie and George Custer SHSND 00053-10
Mandan Historical Development Association

The Mandan Historical Development Association was organized on September 23, 1958 for the express purpose of promoting and developing the historical advantages of the area in and around Mandan. Its primary task was the production of the outdoor drama. The first board of directors was selected by the Chamber of Commerce. New members were elected at subsequent annual meetings of the membership.

The organization continued until 1962 when the responsibility for the drama's operation was turned over to the Mandan Development Corporation (MDC). Documented are the corporation's efforts to promote the economic development of Mandan and to aid and assist businesses by way of financial assistance.  Continued promotion of the play was an attempt to bolster tourism to the area.  The MDC and the Chamber discountinued the play after the 1968 season after attendance fell and adquate public support was not apparent to undertake a major renovation at the fort's amphitheater facility.

Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation

In 1982, in the old Lewis and Clark Hotel in downtown Mandan, the Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation was formed. Its initial mission was to promote and manage the reconstruction, development and promotion of Fort Abraham Lincoln south of Mandan. The Foundation raised money to rebuild the Custer home; the Commissary, Granary, Central Barracks and Mess Hall and a 7th Cavalry Stable plus six Mandan Indian earthlodges and part of the village palisade.

In 2012, the Foundation pivoted to a new, broader mission to preserve, promote and develop heritage tourism sites and educational activities of significance to North Dakota, particularly in the Bismarck-Mandan region, and to maximize the educational and economic benefits resulting from those sites and activities.

For additional details on the Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation and their current efforts to make "history come to life," visit their website at http://www.fortlincoln.org/

The MHSoc's museum and office is located at 3827 30th Avenue NW; PO Box 1001; Mandan, ND 58554
Contact us at info@mandanhistory.org


Last Updated 03/28
/23    ©  2007-2023  Mandan Historical Society   All rights reserved