There Are More Historic Places In This Rural Minnesota County Than We Can Possibly Count
By Trent Jonas|Published August 22, 2023
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Trent Jonas
Author
Trent Jonas came to Minnesota to attend college - and never left. He's a Twin Cities-based writer with a BA in English and a MFA in creative writing, a Minnesota Master Naturalist, and the proud father of two adult children. With more than a decade of freelance writing experience under his belt, Trent is often out exploring his favorite topics: Minnesota's woods, lakes, and trails. Rhubarb pie is his weakness, so discovering new diners is also a passion.
The area now occupied by Blue Earth County was long important to the Dakota people and other native tribes that lived in and passed through this region of the Upper Midwest. Moreover, the county’s history of European settlement dates back to the 1690s, when it was part of New France. This is why Blue Earth County is home to so many important historic places in Minnesota.
The main attraction in the area was the blue clay (similar to that pictured here) which - at the time - was visible along the banks of what is now the Blue Earth River at its confluence with the Minnesota River.
For the Dakota, who referred to this "blue earth" as mahkato, it was an important source of pigment.
In 1683, Pierre Le Sueur, a French fur trader and explorer arrived at the confluence of the two rivers and observed the blue-green clay. He carried a sample back to France, and an assayer named Le Huillier declared that the sample contained copper, which caused its coloration.
Le Sueur returned to the site in 1700 with a complement of men to establish a mining operation. He erected a small garrison, which he named Fort Le Huillier. By 1702, however, it was discovered that the clay did not contain copper, and the fort was abandoned after being attacked. Nothing remains of it.
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Thanks to the diaries of Le Sueur and his shipwright, however, the fort's location has been estimated, and a monument was erected in 1926.
Fort LeHillier Marker, State Hwy 66, Mankato, MN 56001, USA
The monument is just south of the present-day city of Mankato, whose name, as you can guess, derives from the Dakota word mahkato. Thus, even though the blue clay that made this area important to the Dakota people and put it on the map for Europeans is no longer visible along the river banks, it's memorialized in the name of the Blue Earth River, its eponymous county, and the area's largest city.
Fast forward more than 100 years to 1803, and the area that now contains Blue Earth County was sold to the United States by France in the Louisiana Purchase. In 1852, non-native settlers established Mankato township just east of the confluence of the Blue Earth and Minnesota rivers.
At the time, however, the area was still considered the territory of the Dakota people. It remained so until 1853, when the treaties of Traverse des Sioux and Mendota purportedly ceded the land to the United States. That same year, Blue Earth County was established as a division of the Minnesota Territory. The present day city of Mankato is its seat.
As a result of the treaties, most of the area's Dakota people were removed to a reservation in what is now Renville County, in western Minnesota, and administered by the Lower Sioux Agency.
However, tensions between the Dakota and encroaching settlers, as well as government neglect and corruption, led to an uprising among the deprived Dakota people, who attacked the agency. This and the ensuing battles became known as the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.
After the six-week war, the United States military prevailed, and 303 Dakota people were sentenced to death. But President Lincoln commuted 265 of the death sentences.
However, on December 26, 1862, the remaining 38 were executed in Mankato. It remains the largest mass execution in United States history, and this tragedy is memorialized at the city's Reconciliation Park.
These are only two of Blue Earth County’s dozens of historical places, however, I think they serve to emphasize just how much impact historic events in the county have had on the state – and the nation – as a whole. If you’re interested in learning more about these topics, there are many books available on the subjects. The Blue Earth County and Minnesota Historical Societies are also excellent resources.
Did you know about these events and historic places in Blue Earth County? What are some others we should have mentioned? Let us know in the comments.
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