MANDAN Historical Society

Working to Preserve & Promote Mandan's Heritage since 2004

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The 1880s

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FDR Visit August 1936

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1958 Lincoln Stamp FDC

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1st of the 21st

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Area Landmarks

Cary Bldg - Mandan Drug

CCC Camp Chimney

Christ the King Church

Collins Av Civic Bldg

First Lutheran Church

First National Bank Bldg

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Great Plains Academy

Great Plains Expermt Stn

Lewis & Clark Hotel

Mandan Hill

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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

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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

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What's New

Merchants Hotel - 112/124 E Main St
The Merchant's Hotel was one of the first hotels in Mandan which opened for business in January 1880 at 112 East Main Street.  Built by Henry & Philomena Yunck, the hotel continued to operate until 1920. It was situated in a favorable location, between the early railroad depot and the Emerson Institute (later expanded to become the "Opera House".)  After the railroad moved into a new larger depot three blocks west in 1883, the hotel serviced primarily railroad workers and immigrants.

Exerpt from 1883 Stoner "Birds Eye View of Mandan"
Henry and Philomena Yunck with 2-year old daughter Marie moved to Bismarck, DT in 1878 and resided at the steamboat landing while operating a boarding house.  Philomena cooked meals for the bridge building crew and Henry worked as a laborer on the landing. In 1879, the couple decided to move their family, now with the addition of son Joseph, across the river to Mandan.  In January 1880, they celebrated the grand opening of the hotel.

Philomena was well known for her delicious meals. Breakfast included hotcakes, sausage or bacon with fruit, with all the coffee one could drink for only 10¢.  Dinners were no more than 65¢. She cooked meals for the Marquis de Mores while he was being jailed behind the hotel, awaiting trial for murder. Chief Si Tanka (aka Chief Spotted Elk, also referred to as Big Foot) was a frequent guest at the Yunck's for dinner during his travels back and forth from Cannonball.

Theodore Roosevelt was also a familiar figure at the hotel in the early 1880s for stops to go duck hunting with close friends during trips between Bismarck and Medora. Grover Cleveland also appears in the 1884 hotel registry.  Unregistered guests included countless immigrants relocating to Dakota Territory.  The Yuncks frequently offered them free meals and lodging; to a point where a separate building was erected on the back portion of the lot expressly for the purpose.

1883 East Main St (Merchants Hotel in center)
Herman Yunck, Henry's younger brother, was born in 1854 in Richmond, MN.  He moved to Mandan in 1881 and worked for D.R. Taylor (druggist) and the NP Railway.  He was also employed on various riverboats for several years before operating a saloon owned by Henry.  Henry died in April 1884. Herman married his brother's widow Philomena in 1886 and continued to operate the hotel with her. Together, they raised a total of six of Philomena's seven children.

Herman was a charter member of the Mandan volunteer fire department; running the Hook and Ladder Company.  He died on September 23, 1913. Pallbearers at his funeral included early city leaders including D.R. Taylor, Charles Wyman, John Foran, Pat Tobin, H. L. Henke and George Bingenheimer.

Undated Photo of Acrobatic Troop Performing on East Main Street (Merchants Hotel on right)
The building's operation converted to a boarding house in 1920.  Polish immigrant Emil Block moved over from Bismarck, married daughter Willamina, and opened a first-class tailor shop in the front.  Philomena Yunck continued to live in the building with her daughter (also referred to as "Minnie") and son-in-law until her death in 1925.

After Emil Block retired from his tailor business in 1953, the space was taken over as "Seebs Shoe Repair" and finally operated as Ray's Bootery.

In February 1965, firefighters battled for 3 hours to extinguish a major fire at the site. A family member was rescued by firefighters in the blaze.  The fire started in the basement, and quickly spread to both adjacent commercial buildings due to high winds. At the time, it was home to Ray's Bootery, owned and operated by Ray Mosbrucker.  Other businesses involved in the fire included Seeb's Shoe Repair and the vacant / former Friesz Grocery building.

The Society would like to thank Laine Pope for sharing information on her great grandparents with us.

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