St. Joseph Blockhouse

St. Joseph Blockhouse is a Minnesota historical marker in Stearns County.

U. S. highway 52, where the highway turns north about 1 block from St. Benedict's · location approximate

Directions to the area ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

At this point the citizens erected one of three pentagonal blockhouse of green timber, with sides 50 feet long, in August 1862, during the Sioux Outbreak. A second blockhouse stood near the present grounds of St. Benedict's College. These forts effectively protected this important town on the Red River trail against Indian threats.

Verbatim 1940 text, presented as a historical record, not current interpretation. Minnesota now calls the 1862 conflict the U.S.-Dakota War and has since replaced the wording on some of these signs.

TodayHistorical map

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Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1859 · Colton's Minnesota & Dakota (1859) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1860 · Minnesota And Dakota. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1869 · Johnson's Minnesota (1869) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1870 · Burritt's Sectional Minnesota (1870) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1873 · Minnesota. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Colton's Minnesota & Dakota (1859), 1859, covering the location of St. Joseph Blockhouse, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Colton's Minnesota & Dakota (1859), 1859, covering this location. Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours and the location is approximate.

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What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyExpected here. This page shows the older published text, and some signs were recast later. Telling us still helps.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

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Marker data: Minnesota Historical Records Survey Project, Work Projects Administration, Guide to Historic Markers Erected by the State Highway Department Cooperating with the Minnesota Historical Society (1940)

More markers nearby

On the National Register nearby

First State Bank140 ft
Church of St. Joseph-Catholic330 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.