522 - Cross Ranch State Park

Welcome to Cross Ranch State Park. As you explore the park, you might already be aware that the landscape once lent itself to Native Americans who inhabited the area hundreds of years ago, or that the Lewis and Clark Expedition once made its way to the Pacific, setting up camp on what Merriwether Lewis noted, was “a handsome high prairie,” just a few miles upstream, northwest of present day Washburn at Fort Mandan where the Talking Trail continues…

But did you know where the name Cross Ranch comes from, and that its history is linked with Teddy Roosevelt? That’s right. While Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th President of the United States in 1901, and ultimately one of our greatest conservationists, it was his experiences in North Dakota that began in 1883 that so profoundly influenced his life. In fact, he later said, “I would not have been president had it not been for my experience in North Dakota.”

Teddy arrived in the Dakota Badlands to hunt bison. And before he left, he purchased the primary interest in the Chimney Butte Ranch, located seven miles south of Medora. Teddy invested $14,000 for the Maltese Cross Ranch Brand and the cattle. Ranches were commonly known by their brand, and Chimney Butte used an eight-pointed Maltese Cross.

144 miles to the Northeast of Medora, a professor of classical literature and a scout for the Northern Pacific Railroad, by the name of A.D. Gaines moved here. He eventually purchased over 11,000 acres. Gaines was a Teddy Roosevelt enthusiast, and so, he acquired the Maltese Cross brand.

In 1956, Gaines sold the ranch to Bob and Gladys Levis, who renamed their land Cross Ranch. They sold the land to the Nature Conservancy, who along with the Burlington Northern Railroad donated land to create the Cross Ranch State Park. We hope you enjoy your time here, and like Teddy Roosevelt, find the inner cowboy or cowgirl that lives within you.