Lost Dakota

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]

For the musical group, see Lost Dakotas.

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
  1. "Beyond 50: American States That Might Have Been". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
  2. "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.
  3. Smith, D.L. (n.d.). "The 'Lost' Dakota Territory" (PDF). Montana State University Library.
  4. Lane, Chris (June 26, 2013). "Shaping the Trans-Mississippi West: 1866–69". Antique Prints Blog.
  5. loststates (February 23, 2010). Forgotten State of Lost Dakota. Retrieved April 21, 2020 – via YouTube.
  6. 17 Stat. 464
  7. Trinklein, Michael J. (2010). Lost States: True Stories of Texlahoma, Transylvania, and Other States That Never Made It. Quirk Books. ISBN 1594744106.
  8. Oroblanco (February 24, 2009). "Lost Mines of the Black Hills, Dakota Territory". Oroblanco's New Cabin. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
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