National Register of Historic Places listings in Dakota County, Minnesota facts for kids
This article is about special places in Dakota County, Minnesota that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This list includes buildings, areas, and other sites that are important to the history of Dakota County and the United States. Dakota County is in the southeastern part of Minnesota, bordered by the Mississippi River and the Minnesota River.
These historic places tell us about how Dakota County grew. They show us early settlements, fancy homes in Hastings, places where different groups of immigrants gathered in South Saint Paul, and other sites that show what life was like on the prairie. This includes places related to religion, schools, transportation, businesses, and farming.
There are 38 places in Dakota County currently on the National Register. A few others were once listed but are no longer on the list.
Contents
History of Dakota County
The first European settlement in this area happened in 1819 on what is now Picnic Island. Here, Colonel Henry Leavenworth built a fort called "St. Peter's Cantonment." This fort was used to gather materials for building Fort Snelling, which was built on a bluff across the Minnesota River. However, people couldn't live permanently on Picnic Island because it flooded every year.
Mendota: An Early Trading Post
The next important white settlement was in an area called St. Peters, now known as Mendota. In 1826, Alexis Bailey built log cabins there for fur trading. Later, in 1836, Henry Hastings Sibley built Minnesota's first stone house in Mendota. It overlooked Fort Snelling across the river. Sibley was a partner in the American Fur Company, and a lot of fur trading happened in Mendota, where the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers meet. By the time Minnesota became a state in 1858, the main centers of power and business had moved across the rivers to Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
Hastings: A Busy River Town
After Mendota, the town of Hastings became the main center of activity in Dakota County. It was the county seat and a key spot for transportation, communication, and business. Hastings is located right on the Mississippi River, where the St. Croix River joins it. It also had the Vermillion River, which provided lots of water power for mills. Business people in Hastings became wealthy from lumber, milling, and railroads. County residents relied on these businesses to sell their farm products and to get the goods they needed for their growing lives.
South Saint Paul: Meatpacking Hub
In the early 1900s, the stockyards and meat-packing factories in South Saint Paul became very important. They were some of the largest stockyards in the world! Ranchers from the western countryside brought their livestock here to be shipped to cities like St. Louis, Memphis, and New Orleans. Many new immigrants from countries like Romania and Serbia in Eastern Europe came to work in these meatpacking plants.
Historic Places You Can Visit
Here are some of the interesting places in Dakota County that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places:
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Daniel F. Akin House
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| class="adr" | 19185 Akin Road
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| class="note" | This farmhouse was built around 1856 for Daniel F. Akin, a pioneer. He (and his family after him) kept daily weather records, which are very valuable today. The house is also special because it's made of stone.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Christiania Lutheran Free Church
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| class="adr" | 26690 Highview Ave.
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| class="note" | This church was built in 1877–78, and its cemetery started in 1865. They are the last reminders of a big "church war" among different Lutheran groups in a Norwegian American settlement.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Church of Saint Mary's-Catholic
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| class="adr" | 8433 239th Street East
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| class="note" | This church from 1909 is linked to the German immigrants who mostly settled in southeastern Dakota County starting in 1854.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Church of the Advent
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| class="adr" | 412 Oak Street
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| class="note" | Built in 1872, this church uses a style called Carpenter Gothic. It was one of several small churches built in Minnesota under the guidance of Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Dakota County Courthouse
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| class="adr" | 101 4th Street East
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| class="note" | This building was a courthouse from 1869–71 and got a dome in 1912. It's known for its Italianate architecture style and its connection to Dakota County's government. Today, it's the Hastings City Hall.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | District No. 72 School
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| class="adr" | 321st Street West and Cornell Avenue
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| class="note" | This school, built in 1882, is a great example of the small rural schools that were common in Dakota County in the 1800s. It was later used as a community hall.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | East Second Street Commercial Historic District
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| class="adr" | East Second Street
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| class="note" | This is a 5-block area with 35 historic buildings built between 1860 and 1900. It's special because it has kept its original look and has always been a place for shops.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Fasbender Clinic
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| class="adr" | 801 Pine Street
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| class="note" | This medical clinic, built from 1957–59, has a unique metal roof. It's one of the few later works by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright in Minnesota.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | First Presbyterian Church, Hastings
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| class="adr" | 602 Vermillion Street
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| class="note" | This church was built from 1875–1881. It was designed by early Minnesota architect Charles N. Daniels and was one of the first buildings in the state to use Romanesque Revival architecture.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Fort Snelling
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| class="adr" | Picnic Island
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| class="note" | This military base was started in 1819 and used until 1946. It was very important for the growth of the Upper Midwest and for the U.S. Army becoming a major force. Most of it is in Hennepin County.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Fort Snelling-Mendota Bridge
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| class="adr" | State Highway 55
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| class="note" | This bridge, built from 1925–26, is about 4,119 feet (1,255 meters) long. It's known for its clever design and was once the world's longest continuous concrete arch bridge. It also reaches into Hennepin County.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Reuben Freeman House
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| class="adr" | 9091 Inver Grove Trail
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| class="note" | This unusual house, built around 1875, has eight gables. It's special for its unique vernacular architecture (a local, traditional style) and its rare use of coursed fieldstone.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Hastings Foundry-Star Iron Works
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| class="adr" | 707 East 1st Street
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| class="note" | Built in 1859, this is a rare example of Minnesota's first industrial buildings. It made engines and parts for steamboats, grain elevators, construction, and early cars.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Holz Family Farmstead
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| class="adr" | 4665 Manor Drive
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| class="note" | This family farm was started in 1893. It's the last remaining piece of Eagan's farming past. Its 10 buildings show what farming was like in the first half of the 1900s. Today, it's a living farm museum.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | William G. LeDuc House
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| class="adr" | 1629 Vermillion Street
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| class="note" | This Gothic Revival house was built from 1862–65 for William G. LeDuc, an early settler. He was a community builder, historian, and a general during the Civil War. It's now a museum and event space.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Mendota Historic District
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| class="adr" | Roughly bounded by government lot 2, State Highway 55, Sibley Highway., D Street, and Minnesota River
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| class="note" | This area was a fur trading post that became Minnesota's first government seat. It was home to early leaders like Henry Hastings Sibley. It includes three early houses and other buildings from 1835–1854 (now the Sibley Historic Site) and the 1853 Saint Peter's Church.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Minneapolis Saint Paul Rochester & Dubuque Electric Traction Company Depot
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| class="adr" | County Highway 5 at 155th Street
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| class="note" | This is a rare example of a "flag stop" railway station, built in 1910. It was a simple open shelter on the Dan Patch Line that served small farmers and early commuters.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Emil J. Oberhoffer House
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| class="adr" | 17020 Judicial Road West
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| class="note" | This lake home was finished in 1918 for Emil Oberhoffer, who started and was the first conductor of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. It's also known for its Prairie School design by Paul Hagen.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Ramsey Mill and Old Mill Park
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| class="adr" | 18th Street and Vermillion River
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| class="note" | This was one of Minnesota's first commercial flour mills, built from 1856–57. After a fire in 1894, its beautiful ruins became a popular tourist spot and were protected as a city park in 1925.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Saint Stefan's Romanian Orthodox Church
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| class="adr" | 350 5th Avenue North
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| class="note" | This church from 1924 was a social and cultural center for the Romanian American community. They came to South St. Paul for jobs in the meatpacking industry.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Serbian Home
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| class="adr" | 404 3rd Avenue South
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| class="note" | This meeting hall, built from 1923–24, was a social and cultural center for the Serbian American community. They were also drawn to South St. Paul by jobs in the meatpacking industry.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Henry H. Sibley House
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| class="adr" | Willow Street
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| class="note" | This 1836 house belonged to pioneer leader Henry Hastings Sibley. He was a fur trading captain, a U.S. Representative, Minnesota's first state governor, and a general during the Dakota War of 1862. It's part of the Sibley Historic Site.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Stockyards Exchange
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| class="adr" | 200 North Concord Street
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| class="note" | This building from 1887 was the main office for the nation's largest meat packing center around 1900. It's also considered South St. Paul's most important building in terms of its architecture.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Waterford Bridge
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| class="adr" | Canada Ave. over Cannon River
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| class="note" | This bridge, built in 1909, is a rare example of Minnesota's old camelback through truss bridges. It's one of the oldest bridges in the state with strong, fixed connections instead of hinged ones.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | George W. Wentworth House
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| class="adr" | 1575 Oakdale Avenue
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| class="note" | This 1887 Queen Anne house belonged to local leader George Wentworth. It shows how the area changed from farmland to homes and businesses.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | West Second Street Residential Historic District
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| class="adr" | West Second Street
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| class="note" | This area has 13 houses that show the main architectural styles popular in Minnesota between 1850 and 1890. These include Greek Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, and octagon house styles.
Places No Longer Listed
Some places that were once on the National Register of Historic Places in Dakota County have been removed from the list. This usually happens if the building is torn down or changed too much.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Depot |
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| class="adr" | 400 2nd St.
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| class="note" | This train station from 1894 was torn down in 1984 because the railroad company went out of business.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Horticulture Building
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| class="adr" | County Highway 74
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| class="note" | This was a great example of a 1918 building from a county fair. It was torn down in 1988 because it was unsafe, but its unique octagonal dome was saved and is now a gazebo.
|- class="vcard" ! style="background:#A8EDEF" | 0 | Jacob Marthaler House |
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| class="adr" | 1746 Oakdale Avenue
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| class="note" | This 1863 house belonged to Jacob Marthaler, who helped start West St. Paul. The owner tore it down in 1993.
| Farmington | Eureka Township | New Trier | Farmington | Hastings | Waterford Township | Hastings | Hastings | Hastings | Fort Snelling | Mendota | Inver Grove Heights | Hastings | Eagan | Hastings | Mendota | Burnsville | Lakeville | Hastings | South St. Paul | South St. Paul | Mendota | South St. Paul | Waterford Township | West St. Paul | Hastings |
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Farmington |
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Farmington vicinity |
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West St. Paul |
