This is a list of properties on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in Dakota County, Minnesota.

Dakota County

Dakota County, Minnesota

Dakota County is the third most populous county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The county is bordered by the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers on the north, and the state of Wisconsin on the east. Dakota County comprises the southeast portion of seven-county Minneapolis-St. Paul, the thirteenth...

 is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

, bounded on the northeast side by the Upper Mississippi River

Upper Mississippi River

The Upper Mississippi River is the portion of the Mississippi River upstream of Cairo, Illinois, United States. From the headwaters at Lake Itasca, Minnesota, the river flows approximately 2000 kilometers to Cairo, where it is joined by the Ohio River to form the Lower Mississippi...

, and on the northwest by the Minnesota River

Minnesota River

The Minnesota River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of nearly , in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa....

. Its historic sites convey the county's significant historical trends.

The earliest European

European ethnic groups

The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....

 settlement occurred on what is now Picnic Island, in 1819, where Colonel Henry Leavenworth

Henry Leavenworth

Henry Leavenworth was an American soldier active in the War of 1812 and early military expeditions against the Plains Indians...

 built a stockade fort called "St. Peter's Cantonment" or "New Hope;" there materials were assembled for the construction of Fort Snelling, to be built on the bluff on the north side of the Minnesota River

Minnesota River

The Minnesota River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of nearly , in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa....

. Permanent settlement on the island was impossible due to annual flooding.

Mendota

The next significant white settlement occurred in the area known as St. Peters, now Mendota

Mendota, Minnesota

Mendota is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The name comes from the Dakota word for "where the waters meet." The population was 198 at the 2010 census.-History:...

, where Alexis Bailey built some log buildings to trade in furs in 1826. Henry Hastings Sibley

Henry Hastings Sibley

Henry Hastings Sibley was the first Governor of the U.S. state of Minnesota.-Early life and education:...

 built the first stone house in Minnesota there in 1836, overlooking Fort Snelling across the river. Sibley was a partner in the American Fur Company

American Fur Company

The American Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1808. The company grew to monopolize the fur trade in the United States by 1830, and became one of the largest businesses in the country. The company was one the first great trusts in American business...

, and considerable fur trade occurred at Mendota, where the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers converge. By the time Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 achieved statehood in 1858, power and influence had shifted from Mendota, across the rivers to Saint Paul

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...

 and Minneapolis

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

.

Hastings

By this time and continuing into the 20th century, the hub of activity in the county was in Hastings

Hastings, Minnesota

Hastings is a city in Dakota counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota, near the confluence of the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers. The population was 22,172 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Dakota County. The bulk of Hastings is in Dakota County; only a small part of the city extends...

, the county seat, and a focal point of transportation, communication, and commerce. Hastings is critically located on the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 at the confluence of the St. Croix River and on the Vermillion River

Vermillion River (Minnesota)

The Vermillion River meanders through Scott County and Dakota County in Minnesota, emptying into the Mississippi River just south of Hastings. 13.5 miles of it are designated as a trout stream, which is unusual for being so close to a metropolitan area....

, which provided ample water power. Commercial interests built substantial wealth among the businessmen who dealt in lumber, milling, and railroads as the county residents depended on them to sell their agricultural products and to provide the goods needed for a growing economy and rising standard of living.

South Saint Paul

Into the early twentieth century, the stockyards

Stockyards Exchange

The Stockyards Exchange is a building in South St. Paul, Minnesota built in 1887 by the recently-formed Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha. The building housed businesses associated with the nearby stockyards, which later became the largest stockyards in the United States...

 and meat-packing plants in South Saint Paul

South St. Paul, Minnesota

South St. Paul is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, immediately south and southeast of the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is also southeast of West St. Paul, Minnesota. The population was 20,160 at the 2010 census. It is notable as one of the historic major meat packing cities in the United...

 became historically significant, as they were the largest stockyards in the world; this is where ranchers in the vast countryside to the west brought their livestock for shipping to the hungry populations of St. Louis, Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

, and New Orleans, downstream. These plants were worked by new immigrants from Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

, and other Eastern European countries.

Historic sites

The history of the county is well-illustrated by this list, including the settlement at Mendota, the homes of well-heeled residents of Hastings, the ethnic gathering places in South Saint Paul, and other sites related to life on the prairie, including religion, education, transportation, commerce, and the business of farming.

See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Minnesota

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External links

• A list of the above sites, with street addresses and other information, is available at Dakota County, MN listing of National Register of Historic Places.Com, a private site serving up NRHP information.