David Thompson State Historic Site

David Thompson, explorer, fur trader, and the first European to explore the entire length of the Columbia River, was called by a contemporary “the greatest geographer of his day in British America.” To honor his accomplishments as a geographer and astronomer, the David Thompson State Historic Site is marked by a granite globe atop a rectangular granite base, northeast of Velva, McHenry County.

The Great Northern Railroad donated the land to the state and commissioned and erected the monument, which was dedicated on July 17, 1925. The pedestal under the globe bears the following inscription:

1770 DAVID THOMPSON 1857
Geographer and Astronomer

Passed near here in 1797 and 1798 on a scientific and trading expedition. He made the first map of the country which is now North Dakota and achieved many noteworthy discoveries in the Northwest.