July 2, 2015: Henry Sibley House Historic Site (Mendota)

Join the hiking group for a hike along the Mississippi River west from the Henry H. Sibley House Historic Site in historic Mendota, northern Dakota County.

Henry Hastings Sibley (1811-1891) was one of the most prominent names in early Minnesota history, working as a fur merchant at Mendota, serving as the first justice of the peace, as a territorial delegate to the federal Congress, in the territorial legislature from Dakota County, as the first governor of the State, commanding the army assigned with putting down the 1862 Dakota Uprising, on the National Board of Indian Commissioners, as one of the original regents of the University of Minnesota, as the president of the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce, as the president of the Minnesota Historical Society, as the president of the Oakland Cemetery Association. His house was the office for his fur trading business, while its location, Mendota, was once considered for the capitol of the State. After years of neglect, the house was purchased by the Daughters of the American Revolution, restored by them, and operated as a tourist site for almost 50 years. The site is currently managed by the Minnesota Historical Society.

Directions: Meet at the Mendota Trail parking lot ¼ mile west of the Sibley House historic site in Mendota. Go south across the Mendota Bridge, then go east on Highway 110 to the North Highway 13 exit and go north on Highway 13 to Mendota. The bike trail parking lot where we will meet is midway between St. Peter's Catholic Church (to the west, with a tall steeple on the top of the hill) and the Sibley House historic site (east, towards the bottom of the hill, in the middle of "downtown" Mendota.)

NOTE: Do not try to come via Highway 13 from the east! Highway 13 is closed between I-35E and Mendota.

Map to hike start point: 1357 Sibley Memorial Hwy
Mendota, MN

Faribault House information

Sibley House archaeology

MHS Sibley House historic site information

Sibley House historical information

Du Puis House information

Hippolyte Du Puis historical information

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This webpage was last updated on June 19, 2015.