South St. Paul’s rise and fall as the king of the meat packing industry began in 1886 and lasted for over one hundred and twenty years. Today, however, most of what was once one of the largest stockyard operations in the world has been lost to the wrecking ball. As the meat packing operations in […]
Dakota County
Armour Gates
On an empty, overgrown lot located at the corner of Armour and Hardman Avenues in South St. Paul sits the only remaining vestige of what was once the largest livestock operation in the world. Developed on 260 acres along the Mississippi River, five miles south of downtown St. Paul, the stockyards employed over 6,000 people […]
Old Dakota County Courthouse
Just south of the new, modern bridge that spans the Mississippi river carrying traffic into Hastings sits a historic reminder of the beauty and craftsmanship used in 19th century civil architecture. The old Dakota County Courthouse is likely the first thing people notice as they travel south on Highway 61 crossing the river into the […]
Historic Church of St. Peter
For over a century and a half, the Historic Church of St. Peter has watched over the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers in Mendota. Seen from miles away peering through the treeline atop the bluffs on the Minnesota River’s east bank, the church has been a consistent landmark for generations of people living […]
