RV rental Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site, ND: Motorhome rentals, camper van rentals and more

The Fort Union National Historic Site is located near the North Dakota – Montana state border, near the banks of the Missouri River. Book a motorhome rental near Williston, North Dakota, and you can spend days exploring the interesting spot. In its earlier days, the fort was one of the most profitable and important trading posts, trading cloth, guns, and other materials from all over the world for buffalo and small game furs. It was a fort in name only, having no army outpost or government connection, but rather a business that traded with as many as seven Native American nations, including the Assiniboine and Blackfeet. The fort was built in 1828 by the owner of the American Fur Company and continued operating until 1867, making it the longest operational trading post in western America.

The fort's commercial success created peace between the natives and the white settlers, and the fort became a beacon for scientists and artists who wanted to study and document the landscape and its residents. However, the increasing migration of Europeans into the area led to the construction of Fort Buford in 1866 by the U.S. Army, which purchased then dismantled Fort Union. The site was purchased in 1966 by the National Park Service, which rebuilt the fort using materials uncovered during archeological excavations as a blueprint for how the fort appeared.

This fortified site springs up from the sprawling North Dakota prairie, with rugged bluffs on its fringes. When you head here with a Williston rental camper, you can take a step through the fort's gates and experience this historic site nearly exactly as it was in the mid-1800s.