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St. Mary’s of the Badlands, built in 1814, is now the oldest Catholic church still in use in the state of North Dakota. Before of its historical significance, the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

St. Mary's of the Badlands

Its history is rooted in the pioneer days of the 1880’s, when the Northern Pacific Railroad was laying its tracks, ranching was top dog, and the enigmatically adventurous French nobleman, the Marquis de Mores, was living his dream of making the Little Missouri country the meat-packing capital of the nation.

The Marquise commissioned the building of the chapel as the place where he would marry his wife, Medora. The cornerstone of St. Mary’s was laid on September 20, 1884. The construction of the church proceeded rapidly and without incident except that a portion of the east wall was blown down during a heavy rainstorm ten days later. Though sturdily built, the church was of elementarily simple design. Its original form consisted of a single room, 24x50 feet.