The Keelboat Mandan

Donated to Fort Benton by the Montana Historical Society, the Mandan is 62′ long and 12′ 6″ wide. This full-scale keelboat replica was built for the movie “The Big Sky”.

Keelboats antedated steamboats and used every kind of power—chiefly man—except steam. Propelling them was no idle pastime. The usual method was to set long ash poles on the river bottom, toe the cleated walk and push hard, bow to stern. Crews also stumbled along the bank at the end of a cable. Favoring breezes thankfully indicated a sail.

The keelboat speed record, a brisk 110 miles in 61 days, was set in 1811 by a select crew of Manual Lisa, an impatient character. South Dakota winds chased his vessel clear around the Great Bend below Pierre for 75 miles in a long day. In the enclosed cabin keelboats carried beads, whiskey and other goods traded for beaver and buffalo robes at Indian posts along the Missouri.

A four-year restoration effort spearheaded by the Fort Benton Community Improvement Association in 2021 brought the Mandan back to life, thanks to a team of dedicated volunteers, plus donations and grant funding.