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Chateau de Mores is a North Dakota State Historic site commemorating Antoine de Vallombrosa, the Marquis de Mores. The Marquis was an entrepreneur in the North Dakota badlands in the 1880s, the same time Theodore Roosevelt was ranching in the area. The badlands business of the Marquis was a meatpacking empire that he theorized would result in better quality and priced meats back east.
In 1883, de Mores founded the town of Medora and named it after his wife (Medora von Hoffman). It was in Medora that he built his meatpacking empire, but this enterprise closed its doors in 1886. The chimney of the meatpacking plant is still standing today and is located in what is now a park where families picnic before heading into the south unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
One of the reasons the Marquis’ meat packing legacy failed was because he was arrested for murdering a man in a duel. He blamed Theodore Roosevelt for his arrest but the future president denied the accusations saying, “Most emphatically I am not your enemy; if I were you would know it, for I would be an open one, and would not have asked you to my house nor gone to yours.” de Mores was acquitted on the charges and eventually sold his assets in North Dakota and returned to France.
While I had never heard of him before reading The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, The Marquis de More has a lasting legacy in Medora. His story is an interesting one and walking through his 26-room “chateau” was like taking a step back in time. The Chateau de Mores is open for tours in the summer and a statue of the Marquis statue stands in de Mores park. For more information, visit ND.gov.
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The Elkhorn Ranch Unit was home to Theodore Roosevelt’s “home ranch” in North Dakota and was where he came to heal after the death of his wife and mother. Roosevelt chose this location because of its remoteness. Roosevelt himself described the ranch in his book, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman: “My home ranch-house stands on the river brink. From the low, long veranda, shaded by leafy cotton-woods, one looks across sand bars and shallows to a strip of meadowland, behind which rises a line of sheer cliffs and grassy plateaus. This veranda is a pleasant place in the summer evenings when a cool breeze stirs along the river and blows in the faces of the tired men, who loll back in their rocking-chairs (what true American does not enjoy a rocking-chair?), book in hand–though they do not often read the books, but rock gently to and for, gazing sleepily out at the weird-looking buttes opposite, until their sharp outlines grow indistinct and purple in the after-glow of the sunset.”
Locating in northwestern North Dakota, 
I probably would’ve skipped this section of the park altogether if it wasn’t for the 
The drive up there was not easy and it is recommended that you have a vehicle with four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive if you plan on making the trek. There were a lot of large potholes and rough roads, but barely any cars at all. There aren’t many places to stay in the far reaches of the park. There is a hostel in Polebridge and some cabins can be found for rent on VRBO. There are also four campgrounds in the area run by the park service. More information about them can be found on 