Lost Dakota
44°28′27″N 111°03′00″W / 44.4740671°N 111.05°W
Lost Dakota is a small portion of land that was left over after the division of the relatively gigantic former Dakota Territory into five other states in the late 19th century.[1]
Size and location
Lost Dakota was approximately 11 square miles (28 km2) in size, a third the size of Manhattan. The exclave was located at the tripoint between the current states of Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana.[2] Lost Dakota was located 360 miles (580 km) west of the territory, which by then consisted of the current Dakota states.
History and current status
Officially, the land was still a part of the Dakota Territory; however, it had been forgotten by the federal government[3][4] It has retrospectively been speculated to have been a superb area for criminals to escape the law from, due to its forgotten location and lack of development; however, there is no evidence proving that criminals ever sought refuge in the exclave.[4][5] In 1873, it was annexed and incorporated into Gallatin County, Montana Territory,[6] and has remained part of the county in the state of Montana ever since. Lost Dakota is extremely distant from settlement to this day and completely undeveloped, being without a street, road, or even a footpath as of 2010, and is reportedly "plagued" by grizzly bears.[7][8]
See also
References
- ^ "Beyond 50: American States That Might Have Been". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
- ^ "These Actual Proposed States Tried To Be In America, But Just Couldn't Make The Cut". Inter-Connections.com. August 1, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2020.[self-published source]
- ^ Smith, D.L. (n.d.). "The 'Lost' Dakota Territory" (PDF). Montana State University Library.
- ^ a b Lane, Chris (June 26, 2013). "Shaping the Trans-Mississippi West: 1866–69". Antique Prints Blog.[self-published source]
- ^ loststates (February 23, 2010). Forgotten State of Lost Dakota. Retrieved April 21, 2020 – via YouTube.[self-published source?]
- ^ 17 Stat. 464
- ^ Trinklein, Michael J. (2010). Lost States: True Stories of Texlahoma, Transylvania, and Other States That Never Made It. Quirk Books. ISBN 1594744106.
- ^ Oroblanco (February 24, 2009). "Lost Mines of the Black Hills, Dakota Territory". Oroblanco's New Cabin. Retrieved April 22, 2020.[self-published source]