Samuel William Pond

Samuel William Pond. . , Samuel Pond was born in Washington, Connecticut, in 1808. During his early years, he worked as a clothing merchant, a farmer, and teacher in Washington. At the age of twenty-five, he began travelling and landed in Galena, Illinois, in 1833. He was joined the next year by his brother, Gideon H. Pond., The brothers ventured to Fort Snelling in 1834. They proceeded to build a cabin and established the first permanent mission among the Dakota at Bde Maka Ska. In the years following, the brothers and the Dakota exchanged agricultural knowledge. Over the span of 40 years, the brothers established an orthography for the Dakota language, known as the Pond-Dakota alphabet, which is still in use today. They also translated the Bible into the Dakota language and created the first Dakota-English dictionary., In 1837, Samuel Pond was ordained a minister, and a year later, he married Cordelia Eggleston. Most of Pond's life was spent among the Dakota. His family grew up learning the culture, language, and even received Dakota names. His missionary labors covering a period of about nineteen years (1834-1853). He was stationed successively at Lake Harriet, Lac qui Parle, Camp Coldwater, and Oak Grove., In 1847, Samuel Pond was invited by Chief Ṡákpe II to relocate his wife Cordelia and their three children to Ṫíŋta Otuŋwe, located near what is now Shakopee's Memorial Park. The Ponds built a framed structure in the area, which served as the first school and mission. Pond called this area Prairieville. In 1855, Samuel Pond founded the First Presbyterian Church, serving as its pastor for 13 years. Samuel Pond died Dec. 12, 1891, at the mission house, and his headstone can be found at Valley Cemetery in Shakopee.