Historical Markers and War Memorials in St. Peter, Minnesota
St. Peter is the county seat for Nicollet County
St. Peter is in Nicollet County
Nicollet County(75) ► ADJACENT TO NICOLLET COUNTY Blue Earth County(34) ► Brown County(87) ► Le Sueur County(9) ► Renville County(44) ► Sibley County(13) ►
Touch name on this list to highlight map location. Touch blue arrow, or on map, to go there.
In 1856 a new town thrived where you are now standing.
Traverse des Sioux had five taverns, two hotels, several churches, and even a brewery—some 70 buildings in all—and a population that at one time reached about 300. But . . . — — Map (db m75762) HM
For generations, the land stretching out around you was the homeland of the Dakota Indians. Through treaties in 1851, the Dakota sold all of their land in southern Minnesota. The treaties disregarded Dakota people's traditional decision-making . . . — — Map (db m71537) HM
For centuries animals and people used the solid footing and shallow water at Traverse des Sioux as a natural river crossing.
In time the crossing became a place for people to meet and trade goods. European fur traders were quick to see the . . . — — Map (db m73945) HM
Archaeology is the recovery and study of material evidence, such as remainders of pottery, to help us learn about people and places of the past.
In 1994 the Minnesota Historical Society conducted a survey to map and excavate the . . . — — Map (db m78179) HM
This 1.1 acre site represents the history of public education in rural United States. It was one of 68 rural school districts organized in Nicollet County. The first school building on this site was built in the early 1860's. The present . . . — — Map (db m120011) HM
Here, for countless generations, Dakota people followed the traditional ways of their ancestors.
Living close to the land, they learned how to read nature's signs and developed an intimate understanding of the habitats and growth cycles of . . . — — Map (db m207956) HM
Although European traders reached this area in 1695, it was not systematically mapped until the late 1830s.
The mapmaker was Joseph Nicollet, a French astronomer and cartographer who led two government-sponsored expeditions into what is . . . — — Map (db m74990) HM
Because of its importance as a river crossing, Traverse des Sioux was a major distribution point for the fur trade.
As early as the 1770s, the Dakota were trading here for guns, blankets, and kettles. One prominent local trader was the . . . — — Map (db m76158) HM
Imagine standing in this spot 150 years ago.
It would have looked very different than it does today. To the west (your left) was a rolling prairie — vast, nearly treeless grasslands. In the summer the prairie would be ablaze with . . . — — Map (db m77940) HM
The Reverend Stephen Riggs and his wife, Mary, arrived at Traverse des Sioux in 1843 to establish a Protestant mission for the Dakota.
He and other missionaries believed they had a duty to convert Indians to Christianity. Their efforts . . . — — Map (db m78112) HM
This memorial is dedicated
to all the men and women
from Nicollet County
who served their country
in the military service.
———————
Donated by
Mrs. Maurice (E. Luella) Anthony . . . — — Map (db m65956) WM
In 1854 the first settlers from Norway and Sweden arrived in the area. By 1858, the village of Norseland had formed, with the Norwegians gathering for church east of town and the Swedes to the west. That year, the Burke brothers opened a . . . — — Map (db m120010) HM
March, 1856 – Traverse des Sioux and St. Peter organized a cemetery Assoc. purchasing 10 acres. Early Missionaries, pioneer, and Civil War Veterans are buried here.
Rev. T. C. Williamson, first Missionary in this area and Rev. Stephen . . . — — Map (db m66414) HM
About 150 feet North of this Park was the old boat landing.
Boat transportation from the earliest years of this area until the 1870's was the main source of commercial transportation.
The first steamboat to come up the Minnesota River was . . . — — Map (db m65784) HM
First property owner was Wm. B. Dodd. Fourth property owner, Adolph Bornemann, born in Traverse des Sioux 1862. His father, Bernhard, a journalist from Germany came to Traverse des Sioux in 1856; built a hotel & raised sheep. 1869, the Bornemanns . . . — — Map (db m68094) HM
In 1871, Eugene St. Julien Cox, a man of eccentric tastes and "great vigor of mind" built this picturesque neo-Gothic Italianate house noted for its towered cupola, small balconies, and carved eaves.
Cox began his law career in 1857 and . . . — — Map (db m65464) HM
The Old French Cemetery
was located south of this ravine.
The earliest settlers and a few Indians
were buried there until about 1850.
(D. A. R. Emblem)
Erected by
Traverse des Sioux Chapter, . . . — — Map (db m66273) HM
The signing of the 1851 treaty was the signal for settlers and speculators to rush into the new territory.
Here, between 1852 and 1855, several town sites were laid out for sale. The first outfit to offer land was the Traverse des Sioux . . . — — Map (db m75224) HM
Near this place on July 23, 1851, the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands of the Dakota sold 21 million acres of land to the federal government for $1,665,000—about 7.5 cents per acre. The Dakota, hoping to ensure a future for their children, . . . — — Map (db m71152) HM
This ancient fording place, the "Crossing of the Sioux," was on the heavily traveled trail from St. Paul and Fort Snelling to the upper Minnesota and Red River valleys.
Here, on June 30, 1851, Governor Alexander Ramsey, Commissioner of Indian . . . — — Map (db m65557) HM
Why a Treaty?
Created by the federal government in 1849,
Minnesota Territory was more than twice the size
of the present-day state of Minnesota, extending
into the Dakotas as far as the Missouri River. But
white emigrants could not . . . — — Map (db m168092) HM
On July 23, 1851, a treaty was signed here that transferred millions of acres of Dakota land to the U.S. government. The treaty also resulted in the Sisseton and Wahpeton Dakota bands' movement to reservation lands along the Minnesota River.
. . . — — Map (db m79309) HM