Rollin' Down the River 1842

Steamboat travel reached the Rivière Saint-Pierre, or St. Peter's River, in 1842 when the Argo arrived at Sakpe II's village of Tíŋta Otuŋwe. On July 22, 1850, the steamboat Yankee set out from the mouth of the Minnesota River in 104-degree heat while mosquitoes kept crew and passengers from sleeping, then soon turned back and stopped at Tíŋta Otuŋwe, where the landing was surrounded by corn and bean patches worked by Dakota women and where Sakpe and 100 of his braves came down to meet the boat. Steamboats continued to reach Shakopee by river until the 1880s, bringing passengers at irregular intervals to explore the country and settle, carrying supplies and news of the outside world, and inspiring cheers each season when smoke announced the first arrival after winter ice melted. As railroads and bridges spanning the river appeared, steamboat traffic declined and the Minnesota River ceased to be an important transportation route. George R. DeMers of Shakopee, a veteran river man and pilot on the Minnesota River, repeatedly guided boats past sand bars, rocks, rapids, murky waters, and nighttime storms, and in all his years never lost a boat or suffered a serious mishap despite sometimes being responsible for 300 sleeping passengers.

Shakopee, Minnesota · United States