Located in the heart of southern Minnesota on the western edge of an area once known as the "Big Woods," Blue Earth County contains many rivers which served as natural highways for the Indians. The Blue Earth River enters the county from the south and joins the Minnesota River at its great south bend, which forms the northern border of the county. The name "Blue Earth" is a translation of the Dakota Indian word "Mahkato," meaning "greenish blue earth." The Indians in the vicinity used the blue-green clay to color their faces for ceremonial events.

The official organization of the county was effected by an act of legislature and passed in 1853. The settlement of the county dates from 1852, when P. K. Johnson and Henry Jackson, both prominent residents of St. Paul, Minnesota, arrived by steamboat at the mouth of the Blue Earth River. Here they proceeded to make plans for the townsite which was to become Mankato. The honor of naming the townsite was given to Mrs. P. K. Johnson and Mrs. Henry Jackson, who selected the name Mahkato. In legal documents a mistake was made in transcription and the name became Mankato.

Agricultural possibilities attracted many settlers to Blue Earth County in the 1850s and 1860s. The big land rush years of 1854 – 1857 saw more people settling on farms than in towns. They came by steamboat, covered wagons, stagecoach, and later by train. If gold was the magnet in California, rich black dirt was the attraction in Minnesota. The area today is one of the best agricultural areas and Mankato one of the largest industrial cities in the state.

Blue Earth County Minnesota Biography Project

This Site is part of the   Minnesota Biography Project

Martha A Crosley Graham

Host

In May of 1997, this project was organized by Jeff Murphy, using the established KY
Biographies Project as a model.  State coordinators were sought to set up their own state
project.  They were offered the system design and tools created for the KY project, but
were free to set up their project in any way they chose.  I am Martha A Crosley Graham and I am the
coordinator for Blue Earth County, Minnesota.  Volunteers are needed to enter, edit, and archive
the biographies for each project.  If you have biographies you would like to donate for
Blue Earth County, please contact me.  If you would like to volunteer to coordinate a county
please contact the Minnesota State Coordinator Tina Hursh.

US Gen Web Resources for Blue Earth County

bios/                    
cemetery/            
history/                
military/              
misc/                         
newspaper/            
obits/                     
vitals/                

Site Updated: 07 August  2006 Martha A Crosley Graham Rights Reserved - 2006

History
of the
Minnesota Valley,
Including the
Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota
By Rev. Edward D Neill
and
History of the Sioux Massacre
by Charles S Bryant
Minneapolis:
North Star Publishing Company
1882

The Pages below are for the Chapter on the History of Blue Earth County.

I have created fully searchable pdf files for the both the Index and the Chapter. If you find persons of interest in the Index, I can send you scans. Please include Name, Page Number and state that it is from "Minnesota Valley, 1882"

Pages from the Index below are in the process of being Transcribed: Pages:  941-980

Minnesota Biography Project

State Coordinator:

Tina Hursh

Minnesota Biography Logo by Vikimouse