Molstad Village

Molstad Village is an archaeological site in Dewey County, South Dakota, United States, near the city of Mobridge. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964.

At the time of the designation in 1964, it was described as:

Molstad Village was named after Irene and Oscar Molstad, on whose ranch the village was found. The land belonged to Irene Molstad, a member of the federally recognized Cheyenne River Sioux Nation. She and her husband Oscar operated a cattle ranch.

In 1963 and 1964 they allowed crews from the Smithsonian Institution to erect base camps on their property in order to investigate the prehistoric sites. These were being damaged and destroyed by the rising Lake Oahe waters, formed by a dam on the Missouri River. One of those sites, south of Molstad Village and near the mouth of the Moreau River, was named Calamity Village. It was partially excavated by Smithsonian archaeologist Oscar L. Mallory, who operated from the Molstad Ranch base camp.

References