Mendota Heights in Dakota County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Local Stone, National Story

Photographed By McGhiever, June 9, 2023

1. Local Stone, National Story Marker

Inscription. Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers built this overlook in 1938 from local limestone. The workers came from Mendota Camp #1, which was along the river bluff about a half mile (.8 km) away. Between here and there was a limestone quarry. The WPA employed young men to mine and cut limestone blocks for highway projects.

Mendota Camp #1 was the only WPA camp in the state to enroll African Americans. This distinction lasted less than a year. When locals objected to the camp and its workers, the WPA moved them. The original group of African American workers did not work on the overlook.

Racial segregation was typical in federal relief programs like the WPA. The 1930s Depression hit African Americans especially hard. Yet few of them found employment with the WPA.

Walking east on the trail, past the picnic shelter, you will pass the quarry and then the camp. The WPA closed Mendota Camp #1 in 1941 and its 12 small, wood-frame buildings were taken down. Today, a stone chimney and stome building foundations are all that remain.

Erected by Dakota County Parks.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1938.

Location. 44°

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52.036′ N, 93° 10.416′ W. Marker is in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, in Dakota County. Marker is on Sibley Memorial Highway west of Minnesota Route 13, on the left when traveling north. The marker is at the Big Rivers Regional Trail west trailhead, on the rightmost panel between the parking lot and the historic overlook. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1498 Mendota Heights Road, Saint Paul MN 55120, 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. Gather, View, Repeat (within shouting distance of this marker); Sea Becomes Stone (within shouting distance of this marker); Mendota Work Camp No. 1 (approx. 0.2 miles away); Pilot Knob (approx. 0.8 miles away); United States War Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.8 miles away); Oheyawahi Pilot Knob Hill (approx. one mile away); Oheyawahi "a hill much visited" (approx. 1.1 miles away); Mendota / Sibley House (approx. 1.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mendota Heights.

Local Stone, National Story marker (center), with the WPA overlook in the background image. Click for full size.

Photographed By McGhiever, June 9, 2023

2. Local Stone, National Story marker (center), with the WPA overlook in the background

Credits. This page was last revised on June 10, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 9, 2023, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This page has been viewed 103 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 9, 2023, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.