National Historic Landmark

Hagen Site

Glendive, Dawson County, Montana
Listed
October 14, 1966
Type
Site
Period
Listed
Ref No.
66000432

About this property

The Hagen Site, also designated by the Smithsonian trinomial 24DW1, is an archaeological site near Glendive in Dawson County, Montana. The site, excavated in the 1930s, is theorized to represent a rare instance of a settlement from early in the period in which the Crow and Hidatsa Native American tribes separated from one another. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964. The Hagen Site is located on a terrace on the north bank of the Yellowstone River north of Glendive. It is bounded on the east and north by a generally dry arroyo. The site's human-built features include a pit that has been interpreted as an earth lodge site, cache pits, and hearths. During excavation of a portion of the site in the 1930s, more than 20,000 artifacts were recovered from the site, including large numbers of ceramic fragments, stone tools, animal bones, and fragmentary human remains. The site was discovered in 1936 by Oscar Lewis, an area resident and amateur archaeologist, and is named for the landowner. It was examined that year by a team funded by the federal National Youth Administration program. It underwent more substantive excavations in the following two years, by teams organized by the state and funded by the Works Progress Administration. These excavations recorded the locations of artifacts in a horizontal but not vertical orientation, a deficiency that has caused later difficulties in using the collection for analysis and comparison. Finds at the site give some indication of a sedentary horticultural use, consistent with Hidatsa practice, but the site is not anywhere near other known Hidatsa sites, which are primarily on the Missouri River watershed further east in North Dakota. The ceramics at the site bear some resemblance to Crow artifacts, but there is ongoing debate about exactly what constitutes Crow pottery, and the lack of stratigraphic information from the Hagen collection complicates resolution of the question. Despite this problem, the site has been recognized as of unquestioned importance in the region since early analyses were published. National Register of Historic Places listings in Dawson County, Montana

Location

Glendive, Dawson County, Montana

Categories

PREHISTORIC
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Overview
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The Land
The historic sites and place names around the location, and how this land was settled and used.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back millions of years.
LiDAR Terrain
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Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
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Historical Maps
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Finds & Access
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Literature
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Questions about this property

When was Hagen Site listed on the National Register?

Hagen Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 14, 1966.

What type of historic resource is Hagen Site?

Hagen Site is classified as a site in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is Hagen Site a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Hagen Site has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for Hagen Site?

The period of significance for Hagen Site is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Hagen Site?

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