Area 4 ha | ||
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Similar Willow Lake National, Lost Lake National Wildlife R, White Lake National Wildlife R, Crow Flies High State Recreatio, Ardoch National Wildlife R | ||
Butte Saint Paul State Recreation Area is a 10-acre (4.0 ha) North Dakota state park unit located northwest of Dunseith in Bottineau County. The park encompasses 580-foot (180 m) Butte Saint Paul. A 12-foot (3.7 m) stone cairn and commemorative plaque sit atop the peak. Visitors can take in expansive views of the surrounding Turtle Mountain region.
History
In January 1850, Jesuit missionary Georges-Antoine Belcourt and a small traveling party survived a blizzard by digging into the snow atop the peak. Belcourt erected a wooden cross on the summit and christened the peak Butte Saint Paul, as that day was the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul the Apostle. The remains of the cross were rediscovered in the 1930s and were commemorated with a stone cairn and the declaration of a 10-acre (4.0 ha) state park.