Stage Three
Cannonball Stage Station
The Cannonball Stage Station was the fifth stop after Bismarck on the Bismarck-Deadwood Stage Trail. For a brief period from 1877 to 1880, a booming stagecoach line linked the westernmost stop of the Northern Pacific Railroad at Bismarck to the gold fields of the Black Hills. Built in 1877 by the Northwest Express and Transportation Company, the stage station overlooked the Cannonball River fifteen miles southeast of Carson, Grant County. Whenever a stage arrived at the Cannonball Station, spent horses were replaced with fresh teams, and passengers stretched their weary bodies and ate the meager fare. Although this station was not as well equipped as the overnight stop at Cedar Creek, there was a barn and a log building. The station also served as a home to one employee.