1 Church of St. Peter.

St. Peter’s, overlooking the river valley, is the oldest church in continuous use in Minnesota. For many years services were conducted in French. It was built in 1853 with locally quarried limestone. Henry Sibley, a non Catholic, financed the construction. The church replaced a log church built at the base of the hill in 1842 by Father Lucian Galtier. At the time the Minnesota River and Village of Mendota were also called St. Peter.

2 Fort Snelling.

The Fort Snelling site, opposite Mendota, was selected by Lt. Zebulon Pike in 1805. In a treaty with the Dakota Indians, Lt. Pike acquired a military reserve nine miles square including the Village of Mendota and St. Anthony Falls. Originally called Fort St. Anthony the fort was renamed for its builder and commandant Col. Josiah Snelling

3 Pike Island.

The island was farmed by Jean Baptiste Faribault in 1820 to supply produce for the fort’s garrison. The Faribault family narrowly escaped a flood in 1824 resulting in their settling in Mendota.

4 Camp New Hope.

In 1819 Col. Leavenworth camped beneath today’s Mendota Bridge. Here he assembled building materials for the fort. Half of his 122 men died of disease during the winter of 1819-20.

5 St. Peter’s Cemetery.

The cemetery is the resting place of early Mendota settlers. An arrowhead shaped marker commemorates Mendota’s name; in Dakota it means, "meeting place of the waters". The cemetery was considered military property as late as 1870.

6 Pilot Knob

Across Highway 55 from St. Peter’s Cemetery is Pilot Knob the site of the 1851 Treaty of Mendota with the eastern Dakota Indian villages. The treaty opened land west of the Mississippi to settlement. Negotiations started on the second floor of Henry Sibley’s home in Mendota but the Indians were concerned if the house could support all the participants. The name Pilot Knob refers to its use as a reference point for river travelers.

7 The Mendota Bridge

When constructed in 1926 the bridge was the world’s longest poured concrete bridge. Often called the "mile long bridge" it is actually 4,119 feet long. Bridge pilings were driven to a depth of 300 feet without reaching bed rock. The view from the center of the bridge is outstanding.

8 First rail crossing

In 1865 a rail crossing was made from Mendota to Fort Snelling at the Mendota Bridge location. The trackage continued along Minnehaha Creek and on to Minneapolis. A 520 foot iron trestle and swing bridge spanned the river with a half mile of wooden trestle arcing into Mendota. The rails served the Minnesota Central and the Minnesota Valley, the two earliest railroads in Dakota County. Prior to construction of the Mendota Bridge a ferry also operated at this location.

9 Orphaned land.

In the 1980s a new channel for the Minnesota River was cut beneath the East end of the Mendota Bridge. Now, to get to this part of Dakota County from the rest of Dakota County requires driving two miles through Hennepin County.

10 Monument

The marker commemorates the Episcopal Church built by Henry Sibley in 1856.

11 Early Mendota Grade School

The Funk and Lidy building was originally the Mendota Village Grade School. The school was moved from the intersection of D Street and 1st Street.

12 Du Puis House

Pioneer Hypolite Du Puis built the house in 1854. During the 1950s it served as the Sibley Tea House operated by the DAR. Today it is the visitor’s office for the Sibley House

13 The Sibley House.

Henry Hastings Sibley, a partner in the American Fur Company, arrived in Mendota in 1834 to manage the company post. The native sandstone and limestone house was built the next year. At that time the front yard sloped to the river and a landing dock. The family lived on the first floor. An outside staircase to the second floor was often used by Indians for a night’s shelter.

Henry Sibley was a dominant and respected figure in early Minnesota history. He was delegate-at-large to Congress leading to the creation of the Minnesota Territory. He served as the first Governor of the state and was its commanding general during the 1862 Dakota uprising.

14 Jean Baptiste Faribault House

Mendota’s first settler, built the stone house in 1837. It served as his home and as a hotel. His son, Alexander, was the founder of Faribault, Minnesota.

15 Limestone underpass.

At one time a river road passed under the two railroad tracks. The Minnesota Central tracks passed over the limestone bridge on the way to Minneapolis. A depot was located here.

16 Minnesota Quartz

Note the wrought iron MQ on the door of Mr. Art Tabor’s 1930s Minnesota Quartz Company. Tabor, a geologist, processed crystalline sand for sand blasting and resurfacing zinc plates.

17 St. Peter’s log church

The log church was located near the Minnesota Quartz site. After starting the church Father Lucian Galtier was succeeded by Father Augustine Ravoux who served many years.

18 The Mendota Jail

The two cell jail was built in 1915. Now unused, it is opened one day a year during Mendota Days in July by the Mendota/West St. Paul Chapter of the Dakota County Historical Society.

19 Rail lines.

Two rail lines approached Mendota at this point. One turned toward the river side, the other circled the Village on a difficult route to the top of the hill between St. Peter’s Church and the cemetery. Each had a depot here. A turntable operated on the flat area across the road where homes now stand.

20 The railroad Ridge

The difficulty of the circle rail route prompted the railroad to seek a direct route through Mendota. An early town council approved a grade through the center of town and obtaining fill from between 2nd and 3rd Streets. The route is now abandoned. The ridge and hole remain.