City of Mankato, Minnesota

Historical Overview

Mankato was originally called Mahkato, meaning greenish blue earth to Mankato’s first inhabitants, the Dakota Indians. An early spelling error was never corrected and Mahkato became Mankato.

The first Europeans came through Mankato in the 1700s looking for the Northwestern Passage to the Far East. Parsons K. Johnson and Henry Jackson staked the first claims in Mankato in 1852.

A general store was opened shortly thereafter. Steamboat travel along the Minnesota River led the way for additional settlers, but proved to be an unreliable mode of transportation in low-water years. Stagecoach travel became the popular mode of transportation in 1852 when a crude military road from Mankato to St. Paul was built.

In 1868, the railroads came to Mankato, making it the railroad hub for southern Minnesota. The stagecoach line and the railroads eventually eliminated the need for steamboat travel. The last boat, The Henrietta, made its final run from Mankato to St. Peter on April 27, 1897.

County Seat
Mankato was named the Blue Earth County Seat in 1853 and grew rapidly in the 1850s and 1860s. By 1854, U.S. mail was delivered regularly to Mankato due to the efforts of general store owner George Marsh.\