St. Peter's Church

At Mendota, where the rivers meet, missionaries ministered to both Indians and settlers amid the hardships of the Minnesota wilderness. In 1842, Father Lucien Galtier built a small log chapel with only two windows, where the Catholics of St. Peter's Parish worshipped for nearly eleven years. In 1844, Father Augustin Ravoux, after already spending three years in the area, arrived at Mendota to assist Father Galtier, and when Father Galtier left that fall to serve another parish, Father Ravoux assumed full responsibility for the thriving Mendota community, the American Fur Company's chief trading center with the Dakota Sioux in Minnesota Territory. Father Ravoux had St. Peter's Church constructed in 1853 of nearby quarried limestone with a roof of hand-split pine shingles; the building measures only 35 by 75 feet, and its rear portion originally served as the pastor's living quarters. The steeple has been replaced twice, and the original cross that topped the spire now hangs over the inside door. Although the interior has been altered, the exterior remains much as it was in 1853, and the church still serves St. Peter's Parish as the oldest church in continuous use in Minnesota, overlooking the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers and Historic Fort Snelling.

Mendota Heights, Minnesota · United States