In 1856 a new town thrived where you are now standing.



Traverse des Sioux had five taverns, two hotels, several churches, and even a brewery—some 70 buildings in all—and a population that at one time reached about 300. But dreams of grandeur were stilled when nearby St. Peter was chosen as the county seat in 1856. By 1869 nothing was left of the once-booming town.



The Mystery of Metropolisville



Edward Eggleston's 1873 novel The Mystery of Metropolisville drew on his life in Traverse des Sioux during the frenetic 1850s. "Metropolisville is only a memory now," Eggleston wrote. "The collapse of the land-bubble and the opening of the railroads destroyed it. Not only has Metropolisville gone, but the unsettled state of society in which it grew has likewise disappeared—­the land-sharks, the claim speculators, the town proprietors, the trappers, and the stage drivers have emigrated or have undergone metamorphosis. The wild excitement of 1856 is a tradition hardly credible to those who did not feel its fever."



Minnesota Historical Society

Traverse des Sioux

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Show me all markers in:  St. Peter, MN  |  Nicollet County  |  56082  |  Minnesota  |  United States of America

Welcome to Traverse des Sioux
Land-Seas
Archaeology
A Minority in Their Homeland
Traverse des Sioux
Ministering to the Dakota
Ecakensdonyapi
The Rush for Land
Fur Trader Louis Provencalle
The Old French Cemetery

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