Jamestown (click here for Buffalo City Tourism) is the boyhood home of Louis L'Amour, the author of 122 books printed in 27 languages. Readers love his books for their excitement and sense of history. Many of his settings take place in the American West, and thirty have been turned into movies. Discover more on the Louis L'Amour Walking Trail, which includes the historical Franklin School and the Alfred Dickey Library. The Franklin School is headquarters of high-tech CSI Cable but has maintained its historical feel with original blackboards, cloak room, and wide central staircase. The library, where Louis L'Amour spent many hours, features Egyptian-influenced architecture and unique lotus leaf stained glass windows. The Oldest Courthouse in North Dakota is also on the walking trail. Remembering Louis L'Amour, a book by local author Reese Hawkins, is available for sale at Globe Travel.
White calf Dakota Legend was born in the spring of 2008
Jamestown, also known as the Buffalo City, is home to White Cloud, a rare albino buffalo. She has her home with the rest of the herd at the National Buffalo Museum. White Cloud is the mother of five: including Dakota Miracle, a white female born in April 2007. Another offspring of White Cloud, named Dakota Thunder is brown but carries the albino gene. Dakota Thunder is the father of a new white calf born May 31, 2008. The male calf was named Dakota Legend in part to honor the family lineage. The museum shares the hilltop overlooking Jamestown with the World's Largest Buffalo and Frontier Village.
We are home to Jamestown College, a Presbyterian-supported liberal arts college with the Reiland Fine Arts Center on its campus. Also located in Jamestown is the Anne Carlsen Center for Children, nurturing individuals with physical, mental and health impairments since 1941. Darin Erstad of the World-Series winning Anaheim Angels, now with the Chicago White Sox, is also a native son. Jamestown is a sports-active community, with a strong American Legion baseball program, and school sports of all varieties. The North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame is located in the Civic Center.
History has a special place in Jamestown. Besides the Frontier Village, an authentic pioneer town, we are home to the Oldest Courthouse in North Dakota. The Basilica of St. James, a beautiful American-Gothic church, was dedicated in 1914. On the northwest hill overlooking Jamestown is Fort Seward. Here, the largest American flag flies from a 130 foot tall flagpole as part of the Flags Across America project. Each September history comes alive with the 20th Infantry encampment re-enactment at the fort.
Wildlife and bird-watching opportunities abound in the region. Dakota Potholes and Prairies sponsors an annual week-end bird watching event in the spring. Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge, west and north of Jamestown, is the summer nesting home of up to 20,000 American White Pelicans. In 2008, the refuge will celebrate its Centennial. The refuge was established in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt as a reserve and breeding ground for native birds. The Jamestown and Pipestem Reservoirs protect Jamestown from flooding, and provide good fishing and recreation opportunities.
Northeast of Jamestown is the town of Wimbledon, the northern terminus of the Midland Continental Railroad. Investors had planned a north-south route connecting Winnipeg to New Orleans, but only made it from Wimbledon to Edgeley before running out of money. The Midland Continental Depot is on the national register of historic places, and is famous not only for its place in railroad history and as the only wood frame construction depot built by Midland Continental which is still standing, but also as the home of Peggy Lee during her high school years, when her singing career was launched. The kitchen and two bedrooms have been restored to 1930's style decoration, as Peggy Lee would have known them. The museum is open by appointment.
Jamestown is located on Interstate 94 in the heart of the Midwest, 90 miles west of Fargo, North Dakota and 100 miles east of Bismarck, our capitol.