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Near Morton in Redwood County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
 

St. Cornelia's Church

 
 
St. Cornelia's Church Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By K. Linzmeier, October 25, 2013
1. St. Cornelia's Church Marker
Inscription.
  A center of Mdewakanton Dakota community life for several generations, St. Cornelia's Episcopal Church is a symbol of Dakota continuity in the homeland from which they once were exiles. In 1987 the remains of 31 Dakota who died in an Iowa prison following the U. S. - Dakota Conflict of 1862 were returned to rest here among their own people.

  Forced to sign away most of their traditional lands, the Dakota by the 1850s lived on a reservation along the Minnesota River. The U. S. government at the Lower Sioux Agency was slow to provide the schools it had promised. Finally, in 1860, hereditary chief Wabasha and leaders Good Thunder and Taopi asked Episcopal Bishop Henry B. Whipple to start a church and a reservation school.

  Whipple sent 21-year-old Samuel D. Hinman to work with the Dakota people. Soon Hinman's school had 50 pupils, and by 1862 a church building, its cornerstone selected by Wabasha and laid by Whipple, was nearing completion. The church was destroyed in the 1862 conflict, and the Dakota were driven from the state.

  After more than 20 years in exile, some Dakota people returned to their former home in the 1880s. By 1889 a new church was under construction. The same cornerstone used in the 1862 church was now installed in a new location on land donated by Good Thunder. Named for the
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wife of Bishop Whipple, St. Cornelia's was consecrated in 1891.

  Among those Dakota who led the congregation after Hinman's death in 1890 were Napoleon Wabasha, the Rev. Henry Whipple St. Clair, George Crooks, and Sam Wells. Members of almost every Dakota family in the area provided support, and many of their children attended the mission school until it closed in 1920.

  St. Cornelia's Church was placed on the National Register of Historic Sites in 1979.

seal of The Minnesota Historical Society, Instituted 1849
Erected by the Minnesota Historical Society in cooperation with the Lower Sioux Indian Community
1988

 
Erected 1988 by the Minnesota Historical Society in cooperation with the Lower Sioux Indian Community.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial SitesChurches & ReligionNative AmericansWars, US Indian. In addition, it is included in the Minnesota Historical Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1987.
 
Location. 44° 31.999′ N, 94° 59.727′ W. Marker is near Morton, Minnesota, in Redwood County. Marker can be reached from Reservation Road 101, 0.1 miles east of Reservation Highway 1, on
St. Cornelia's Church Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By K. Linzmeier, October 25, 2013
2. St. Cornelia's Church Marker
two-sided marker with duplicate text
the left when traveling east. Marker is located within the Lower Sioux Indian Community. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 38378 Reservation Road 101, Morton MN 56270, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Repatriation Monument (a few steps from this marker); Lower Sioux Veterans Memorial (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Mdewakanton Ehdakupi Wanagi Makoce (about 400 feet away); Robert's Trading Post Site (approx. 1½ miles away); Forbes' Trading Post Site (approx. 1½ miles away); Myrick's Trading Post Site (approx. 1.6 miles away); The Remains of Hon. J.W. Lynde (approx. 1.6 miles away); Caught Unaware! (approx. 1.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Morton.
 
More about this marker. photo caption: The congregation of St. Cornelia's Church, about 1900.
 
Also see . . .
1. St. Cornelia's Episcopal Church. Wikipedia entry. (Submitted on November 13, 2013.) 

2. Henry Benjamin Whipple. Minnesota Historical Society. (Submitted on November 13, 2013.) 
 
Additional keywords. Bishop Whipple Mission
 
St. Cornelia's Church Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By K. Linzmeier, October 25, 2013
3. St. Cornelia's Church Marker
St. Cornelia's Church and Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By K. Linzmeier, October 25, 2013
4. St. Cornelia's Church and Marker
St. Cornelia's Church image. Click for full size.
Photographed By K. Linzmeier, October 25, 2013
5. St. Cornelia's Church
National Register of Historic Places #79003717
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on November 13, 2013, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 669 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on November 13, 2013, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.

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Mar. 28, 2024