Known to Dakota people as Oheyawahi, “the hill much visited,” Pilot Knob is a place of distinctive historical, cultural, and environmental importance, a sacred site, a landmark of Minnesota's beginnings. Pilot Knob is located on the east end of the Mendota Bridge, south of Highway 55 in Mendota Heights, Minnesota. A portion of the hill is included in Acacia Park Cemetery.
Seth Eastman's view of Pilot Knob, 1846, looking southeast from below Fort Snelling. Minnesota Historical Society.
In 2003 a 113-acre portion of Oheyawahi/ Pilot Knob was nominated for the National Register of Historic Places as a place of traditional importance to Dakota people and a geographic site signicant for Minnesota's history. The nomination was approved by state agencies and forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register in Washington in November. In January the Keeper determined that Oheyawahi/ Pilot Knob was eligible for the National Register. The text of the nomination form contains a detailed history of the site and describes its significance. It will be available here soon.
After four months at the Dakota County Historical Society, the historical exibit about Pilot Knob has now opened at the Jean-Baptiste Faribault House, one of the historic houses at the Sibley House Historic Site in Mendota. The exhibit chronicles the rich heritage of Oheyawahi in photographs, paintings, drawings, and maps.
Hours: Through the end of October, Saturday 10 a.m - 4 p.m. Sunday 1 - 4 p.m.
Location: Near the Minneapolis/St. Paul International airport, in downtown Mendota on Sibley Memorial Highway (State Hwy. 13), two miles west of Interstate 35E, and one quarter-mile east of the Mendota bridge (State Hwy. 55). For more information call the Sibley House Historic Site at 651/452-4141 or contact the Pilot Knob Preservation Association (James Rogers at 651/962-5662).
News
A Dakota County District Court judge has ruled against Minnstar Builders and the landowners Allen and Buttenhoff in a lawsuit filed on January 29, 2004. The developer and landowners sued the city of Mendota Heights seeking approval of the Pilot Knob building project and damages. The hearing in the lawsuit took place in Hastings on April 22 to deal with the plaintiffs’s “alternative writ of mandamus.” The judge ruled on May 19 in favor of the City of Mendota Heights. Read the judge's decision.
Minnstar Builders proposed a 157-unit housing development for the north end of Pilot Knob in November 2002. In December citizens petitioned for an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW), which the City of Mendota Heights ordered in January 2003. In November 2003 after the EAW was completed, the City of Mendota Heights ordered an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), to be paid for, as dictated by Minnesota law, by the developer. The lawsuit was the developer's answer to that order.
Further updates will be given here as new developments occur.
Read some of the legal documents filed in the case.
In the place known as Oheyawahi—the “hill much visited”—there is a profound and sacred history. Here a treaty was signed that ceded 35 million acres of Dakota land to Minnesota's new pioneers and the U.S. government. And here generations of Dakota Indian people were lovingly sent on their final journey, with an unspoken promise that their burial sites would remain undisturbed. Read the Oheyawahi/ Pilot Knob Burial Register.
The Pilot Knob Preservation, with the aid of Turnstone Historical Research, has produced print of Eastman's view of Pilot Knob, shown above. This new print has been carefully compared with the original watercolor to obtain the best possible color reproduction. The print can be purchased at various locations including the Dakota County Historical Society and the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community. For more information contact Bruce White at white067@tc.umn.edu.
The Pilot Knob Preservation Association advocates for this distinctive hill, documents its long history, raises public awareness of its importance, and helps to preserve it for present and future generations. For more information write to:
Or contact James Rogers at 651-962-5662 or pkpa@pilotknobpreservation.org