Biggs Cross Country 2017: Day 47

Medora. How to explain Medora? Medora celebrates three of its heroes in this "company town":

1. Theodore Roosevelt came here in the 1880s to get away from the rat race of New York politics. He loved the Badlands of Dakota Territory. He built two ranches - Elkhorn and Maltese Cross - and enjoyed hunting and cattle ranching. The Theodore Roosevelt National Park was created by congress in 1947.

2. In 1883 The Marquis de Mores came to Medora from New York with a novel idea. He wanted to raise cattle and process them in his slaughter house and ship them to Duluth in refrigerated rail cars, for shipment to New York to be sold through his meat market. True vertical integration. They built a mansion called the "Chateau" which was used as their part time residence and to welcome guests for hunting parties, etc. The meat processing plant consisted of ice houses, slaughter house, and a huge brick chimney.

The project had failed by 1886 and the plant was abandoned. It burned down in 1907. The brick smoke stack is all that remains. The de Mores returned to New York. Mrs. de Mores, "The Marquise", who was a wealthy women, contributed funds to build the little Catholic church, which is the oldest operating Catholic church in North Dakota.

In 1920s the descendents of the de Mores donated the "chateau" to the State of North Dakota. The building was restored in the 1930s by the CCC and is now a state park, open for tours.

So even though the De More Plant only lasted three years, the deMores left a mark on this little town, which basically dissappeared after they left.

3. In the 1950s Harold Schafer came to town. He was the owner of the consumer products Gold Seal Company in Bismark, just a few hours east of Medora. Two of his hit products were Glass Wax and Mr. Bubbles. Remember them? He began the long process of rebuilding Medora to make it into a tourist attraction. Starting with renovation of the Rough Riders hotel, which is where we stayed - first class hotel! When Schafer sold Gold Seal in 1986 he and his wife Sheila created the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation......which owns the entire town!

The main thing that puts Medora on the tourism map is the "Medora Musical", a summer outdoor music theater and "Pitch Fork Bar B Q" which has been going for 53 consecutive years! We enjoyed the production on a pleasant summer night! Earlier in the afternoon we had seen a Teddy Roosevelt impersonator - he was marvelous!

Medora and Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a great place to spend a couple of days.