Taopi

Taopi. . , In 1878 John B. Goddard and his family left their home near Taopi, Minn., and traveled by horse-drawn wagons to this site. They settled here in Dakota Territory, a sparsely populated area three miles beyond the end of the trail., With his son George, Goddard built and operated a general store that supplied the everyday needs of newly arrived homesteaders. A year later he added a post office. In time he became instrumental in organizing a school, a church, a nearby cemetery, and this township., Each of these new entities was named "Taopi" to commemorate a Christian chief of the Farmer band of Santee Sioux because of his loyalty during the Minnesota Uprising of 1862., While other Sioux warriors killed over 600 settlers, including Judge Joseph B. Amidon and his son William at Sioux Falls City, Taopi refused to abandon his new beliefs. He spurned orders to enter the conflict, directed his warriors not to make war, and obtained the release of women and children settlers held hostage. Chief Taopi died in 1869 at age 49.