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Area History

Mankato was originally named “Mahkato” (meaning greenish blue earth) by its earliest inhabitants, the Dakota. During the 1700’s the first Europeans came through the area looking for the Northwestern Passage. Land was purchased in 1851 in a treaty between the U.S. Government and the Dakota Nation. The first claim to Mankato was made in 1852 by Parsons K. Johnson and Henry Jackson. During this time steamboat travel paved the way for settlers. Stagecoach travel soon became the popular mode of transportation when a crude military road between Mankato and St. Paul was built.

The U.S.-Dakota Conflict of 1862 represents a sad, but significant part of Mankato’s history. The conflict began when the government delayed and skipped several land payments due to the Dakota as part of the 1851 treaty, leading to an uprising in 1862. Several hundred people were killed and countless properties were destroyed across southern Minnesota. Originally, 303 Dakota prisoners were sentenced to death for crimes committed during the conflict. Final authorization came from President Lincoln, who was under pressure to take immediate action. Lincoln reduced the number to 38 people, who on December 26, 1862, sang as they left the prison in Mankato and continued singing until their hanging. Today, Reconciliation Park marks the site of the largest mass execution in American History.

In 1868 the railroads came to the area making it a hub for transportation in southern Minnesota. In 1880 the first bridge was built across the Minnesota River connecting Mankato to what is today North Mankato, representing an interdependence and partnership between the two cities that continues today. Despite several floods, tornadoes, severe storms and harsh winters, settlers persevered.  Between 1880 and 1890 North Mankato experienced their largest period of commercial and industrial growth and was officially established in 1898. Today, many memorials and buildings exist to commemorate the diverse and important history that has shaped our region.