Verendrye National Monument

Photo by South Dakota Tourism

The Verendrye National Monument sits on Verendrye Hill, where it over looks the entire city of Fort Pierre.

A little history about the monument, Frenchman Pierre Gaultier De La Verendrye and his sons explored the interior of North America in the 18th century. In 1742, Francois and Louis-Joseph Verendrye embarked on an expedition to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean. A little fun fact, the Venedrye family discovered South Dakota, specifically where Pierre and Fort Pierre are now located 61 years before Meriwether Lewis and William Clark first arrived in the area. At the end of March, 1743, after visiting with local Arikaras, they buried a lead plate at the site to lay the basis for French sovereignty on the upper Missouri, seeking to establish French control of the entire Mississippi River drainage.

A group of school children playing on the hill found the lead plate in 1913. They noticed a small part of the plate protruding from the ground, dug it out, and carried it into town. They were about to sell it to a local print shop, because it was made of lead. Fortunately, someone contacted State Historian Doane Robinson, and he saved the plate.

You can learn more about the history of the Verendrye National Monument, by visiting: nps.gov