Mendota, Minnesota

Dakota county lies on the east side of the Mississippi river, directly opposite where the St. Croix river empties into it, and where the Mississippi river commences the task of dividing the States of Minnesota and Wisconsin, the great river having till this time passed entirely over Minnesota soil. On the north the Minnesota river divides Dakota from Hennepin county, Scott and Rice counties lying on the west, and Rice and Goodhue on the south. These are the general boundaries, though Dakota county is so irregular in form that it would be difficult to give an exact idea of its shape, without giving a map of the county, in the State, aside from the government troops at Fort SnelHng, was made in this county at Mendota in 1S2'6, by Jean Baptiste Faribault, an Indian trader from Canada. jSTo other settlers arrived for some years. In 1834, H. H. Sibley, afterwards the first governor of the State of Minnesota, located at Mendota, and soon had quite a colony of immigrants established at that point, and in his adventurous pioneer life saw very much of interest, and had many adventures that would of themselves form an interesting volume. We can hardly find room for extended notices, but give some extracts from some ot his writings and his journal, which he has kindly permitted us to copy.

Passage source: Dakota County, published 1868.

Mr. Sibley was foreman of the first grand jury ever empannelled in what is now the State of Minnesota, which consisted of twenty persons, three only of whom could speak or understand English, the rest being all Frenchmen. The court was held at Mendota, Judge Cooper presiding. His Honor delivered a written charge to the jury, of considerable length, which was profoundly listened to, though not a word was understood by more than three of the jurors.

Passage source: Dakota County, published 1868.

open-eyed wonder, tliey more than half suspect that some powerful geni with his magic wand has passed over the country, and produced these startling results; but the spirit of adventure, combined with first class Yankee ingenuity marked the 2)roblem, and "Western perseverance solved it. Men of independent mind and effort, with hearts throbbing with cheerful hope; men of nerve and muscle, "with a heart for any fate," an invincible determination to conquer all adverse circumstances, and hands wilHng and eager to demonstrate the fact, have looked out and made their homes on the fertile prairies that lie spread out so invitingly to the eye of the beholder. Beneath the tough web of the sward lay one vast garden, pregnant with all the rich fruits and golden grains ; a mine of incomparably greater wealth than the richest veins of golden ore. This capital has been brought into active use by the enerjjies of the toilino- thousands who have turned the waste of wilderness into fertile fields, and the treasures of the earth into channels to contribute to the happiness of man. And yet, the present importance and wealth are but the development of an insignificant portion of its real capacity ; v/hile vast unfurrowed fields still clad in the vestments of nature's primal beauty, invite the tillers of the soil to a closer acquaintanceship, and promise a rich reward for all the labor bestowed in their cultivation. At no time since the first settlement of the country have there been greater inducements to the agriculturist, the artisan, or the capitalist, to make homes within her borders, and it needs no j^rophet's tongue to tell that in the future there awaits unsurpassed prosperity, and a golden harvest for those who labor assiduously for that development. If the exertions and never-ceasing activities of the people are judiciously expended, a brilliant future awaits them. The Great Proprietor has dealt out to them of the garnered treasures of the earth with a more than bountiful liand, in fertility of soil, springs and streams of water, the facilities of communication, that reach nearly every town in the county, and make it one of the most accessible in the State. The natural communication and primal one is by way of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers which bound the county on the north and east, affording rare shipping facilities for all the productions of the soil, and for bringing merchandise to . their homes. The next is the Milwaukee, St. Paul & Minneapolis railroad which enters the county at the northern extremity at Mendota, and runs through the entire length from north to south, having five stations within the limits of the county, viz : Mendota, Westcott, Rosemount, Farmington, and Castle Pock. This road is at present the only one in the State having a direct eastern communication, and is consequently the principal thoroughfare through the State. The Hastings & Dakota Pailroad is a line running from Hastings west through the whole county, and crossing the Milwaukee, St. Paul & Minneapolis road at Farmington. Twenty miles of this road are completed and the cars running thereon. The St. Paul & Chicago Railway also runs through a portion of the county, crossing the Mississippi river at Hastings. The Minnesota Yalley Railroad, starting at St. Paul, runs through the county on the northern line, connecting with the Milwaukee, St. Paul & Minneapolis road at Mendota, and has three stations within the county. Navigable rivers bounding it on the north and east, and four diflerent lines ol railroad running through it, gives commercial communications unsurpassed by any of equal extent of country on the continent.

Passage source: Dakota County, published 1868.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Mendota City - it names this place 1 more 1 time.