The Marquis de Mores
Antoine Amedee Marie Vincent Manca de Vallambrosa, more often called the Marquis de Morès, was an entrepreneurial Frenchman and a key player in the North Dakota badlands in the 1880s, coincident with Theodore Roosevelt’s ranching days. The Marquis was as well known for grandiose moneymaking schemes as for his skill as a rifleman. His wife, Medora Von Hoffman, the daughter of a wealthy Wall Street banker of German descent, was the source of his wealth. Using the wealth of the Von Hoffmans, he founded a meatpacking industry on the Northern Great Plains that resulted in lower prices and higher quality meat being shipped to market.
On April 1, 1883, the Marquis de Morès claimed a six square mile area of Little Missouri riverbottom and founded the town of Medora, which he named after his wife. He founded his town intentionally close to the lawless settlement of Little Missouri as an affront to its unwelcoming residents. He built a slaughterhouse, or abbatoir, where cattle and other livestock could be slaughtered, dressed, and loaded onto refrigerated rail cars and shipped to markets in the east. As his economic theory went, cattle that came straight off the range to slaughter would be of higher quality than those who lost significant weight while being driven long distances and then shipped live by train to the Chicago stockyards. Additionally, his business would save money because he could ship the dressed meat directly to market. The business intended to capitalize on the booming cattle ranching industry in the Dakota Territory in the 1880s. For a variety of reasons, including a lack of attention by the Marquis as he continually looked for new investments and his legal troubles stemming from a deadly shootout, the de Morès meatpacking empire never saw its full potential before it closed in 1886.
The Marquis de Morès and Theodore Roosevelt were two men with extraordinarily large personalities, and, although relations between them were generally cordial, they occasionally clashed. Twice, they had disagreements over land rights, and once Roosevelt backed out of the sale of some of his cattle when the Marquis lowered the price per pound from the agreed upon 6¢ to 5.5¢. While the Marquis was in jail during his trial for the killing of Riley Luffsey (for which he was later acquitted), he wrote a letter to Roosevelt on September 3, 1885 that expressed concern that Roosevelt’s hunting guide and friend Joe Ferris had been “very active against me and has been instrumental in getting me indicted,” and asked “Is this done by your order?” Roosevelt had not acted against the Marquis, but the threat of violence implied in the Marquis’s letter must have been discomforting to Roosevelt. The disagreement being settled in a duel was a very real possibility. TR wrote back, “Most emphatically I am not your enemy; if I were you would know it, for I would be an open one…” The firmness and openness of the response cooled tensions between the two giants of Medora as the Marquis backed out of any direct confrontation with Roosevelt.
While the Marquis's influence on Medora has been lasting, his attitudes and actions, in many ways, serve to highlight how popular Theodore Roosevelt was by comparison. The Marquis tended to use his wealth to inflict his will on people whether or not they agreed with him. He founded his own rival town and was one of the first in the area to put up barbed wire fences. On the other hand, Theodore Roosevelt tended to reflect concern for the area and its people. He organized Medora’s first Stockmen’s Association and his commitment to justice was shown through his fair dealings with locals and his role as a deputy sheriff. The Marquis de Morès’s legacy is not that of a sinister antagonist to Roosevelt, but of a bold dreamer and a man who, despite his aristocratic and European background, in many ways encapsulated the spirit of the Wild West.
The State Historical Society of North Dakota operates the Chateau de Mores State Historic Site, located near the entrance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s South Unit in Medora. The site is composed of three separate parts: the Chateau de Mores, De Mores Memorial Park in downtown Medora, and Chimney Park. The Chateau de Mores site includes a visitor center, museum, and guided tours of the Marquis's home. De Mores Memorial Park features a statue of the Marquis. Chimney Park, where a picnic area and ruins of the abbatoir are located, stand as a quiet reminder of the Marquis's unfulfilled dreams.
