Around 9,000 years ago glaciation and erosion created
the geography of the hilltop without a peak or bluff top.
Instead there is "knob-like" formation.
Evidence the Mentonwan and Mdewakanton Bands of the Dacotah
lived in the area dates back to around 1500. They called the hill,
O-He-Ya-Wa-He, meaning "a place much visited." Sometime in the eary
1600s, it is believed, the last battle for control of the Mdo-Te
between the Dakota and the Iowa toop place on the back slope of
Pilot Knob. Around 1800 French explorers first make mention of a
hill where the Indians bury their dead, calling it "Les Buttes Des
Morts" meaning "Knoll of the Dead."
Up to the 1820s US Military personnel note the hill when assessing the threat
it poses to Fort Snelling as a superior position for enemy
artillery to potentially shell the fort. However, no such
conflicts are expected and a location on the Western side
of the valley is instead chosen for the fort's location.
In 1834 the "Indian Dances" Minnesota's white settlers and stationed troops
enjoyed while they stayed at Fort Snelling or Camp Coldwater
were held on the slopes of Pilot Knob. The precise location
of the dancing remains unknown due to poorly detailed
accounts. Indian Dances on the hill continued through
the 1840s. Around this time riverboat captains are historically
credited with giving the hill it's current name as a navigation
landmark.
On July 29, 1851 treaty negotiations with the Dakotahs begin in
a warehouse owned by the American Fur Company, but the space proved
too small to accommodate all who attended. The hundreds of Dakotah
who attended to witness the Treaty negotiations wanted the meeting
moved up onto Pilot Knob the next day. An arbor was constructed
probably on what is today called the "Garron" property (the North
slope). Just North of this site was a gully through which passed
the "Big Sioux Trail" to Hastings, about where Highway 55 runs
today. The treaty negotiations took about a week, culminating a
mutual signing on August 5th.
In the original bill written by US Senator Steven Douglas for
the creation of the Minnesota Territory, Pilot Knob was proposed as
the place for the new capitol. Henry Sibley, though, rejected the
site and suggested Saint Paul - which became the capitol and
remains so to this day. Henry Sibley owned the land at the time and
didn't want to compromise his integrity by profiting from the land
sale involved to transfer Pilot Knob into government ownership.
In 1852, just one year after the Treaty, construction began on a
new St. Peter’s Church (the previous church had been located
below the present site since 1842). Most of the funds came from
Henry Sibley and construction finished in 1853. Like many Christian
churches built during that era it was purposely placed on a site
previously used for Indian ceremonies.
Through the late 1800s, as local historians tried to compile information on
the founding of the area, the idea that the Treaty of
1851 was signed on Pilot Knob was investigated because
of uncertainty as to where the treaty signing had actually
taken place.
By 1922 the Daughters of the American
Revolution had placed a plaque on Pilot Knob commemorating the
signing of the Treaty of 1851. The plaque can be seen today just
inside the gates of Acacia Cemetary.
The plaque read: "1851-1922 To commemorate the Treaty at
Mendota negotiated on PILOT KNOB whereby the Sioux Indians ceded
their lands in the Territory of Minnesota and State of Iowa to the
United States Government. Placed by Mendota Chapter, Daughters of
the American Revolution. SAINT PAUL, MINN."
The first efforts to preserve Pilot Knob as a historic site were
proposed in the Minnesota State Legislature in 1925. Those efforts
proved unsuccessful, however. This was mid-way through the
construction of the Mendota Bridge (1924-1926), and there may have
been concerns that designating the hill a historic site would
jeoprodize the bridge project.
In 1926 Acacia Cemetary purchased Pilot Knob and started a
landscaping project to creat Acacia Park. As part of that project
they removed the top 20 feet of the hill - the distinguishing
knob-like formation for which the hill was named! Digging on the
hill also turned up Indian remains in the 1920s. An arbor was
constructed at the top of the hill similar to the one shown in
paintings of the signing of the Treaty of 1851 in a likely
inaccurate recreation (given that the accuracy of the paintings on
which it was based is questionable).
In 1932 the Daughters of the American Revolution place another
plaque and marker on the hill commemorating the 1851 treaty - the
plaque says that the treaty was negotiated on Pilot Knob but the
location of the marker is not the site of the treaty
negotiation.
During the 1960s reconstruction of Highway 55 was underway. This
project removed highway access to Pilot Knob resulting in dead
ended roads today.
The area was again studied in the early 1980s as a
reconstruction project was planned for the Mendota Bridge. Mendota
Bridge was repaired and placed on the historic register in the
early 1990s. During reconstruction, almost two million cubic yards
of dirt were removed from the incline on the East end of the
bridge. The steepness of the hill, though, is still apparent in
aerial photographs. The Garron site (the place believed most likely
for the actual signing of the Treaty of 1851) also went up for
sale.
In 2002 Acacia Cemetery, disallowed from selling plots on the
East side of Pilot Knob hill, places "investment land" along the
cemetery's Northern border up for sale. This is soon followed by a
development company's plans to build high-density townhomes in the
area.
The proposed construction project becomes the center
of a contraversey over encroaching development and the
site's historic significance to both Native Americans
and Minnesota's heritage. On June 23, 2003 Pilot Knob
was officially nominated for placement on the National
Register of Historic Places. In July 2003 discussions
began on forming a non-profit group to advocate conservation
of Pilot Knob and future solutions for what to do with
the acreage. In August a self appointed sub-committee
presented an exhibit at the Mendota Pow-wow (held on the
grounds of St. Peter's Church in Mendota) hoping to raise
awareness of Pilot Knob's historical significance and
the threat posed by development.
As of this writing, Pilot Knob is not officially acknowledged
nor preserved as a registered historic site.
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