On This Date In Twin Cities History - September 21, 1805

On this date in 1805, Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike, on a mission for the War Department, reaches the mouth of the Minnesota River, near modern day Mendota, and sets up camp. Two days later he holds council with a small Dakota band to negotiate a treaty for lands adjacent to the Mississippi River.

The land that Pike negotiated would later become the site of Fort Snelling and the Island on which he camped now bears his name. After signing the treaty with the Dakota, Pike continued upriver as far as Sandy, Leech and Cass Lakes eventually finding the source of the Mississippi River.