Sibley Historic Site

Henry H. Sibley House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Sibley's House at St. Peter, now Mendota
Location	Willow Street, Mendota, Minnesota
Area	0.5 acres (0.20 ha)
Built	1836
NRHP reference No.	72000676
Added to NRHP	January 20, 1972

The Sibley House Historic Site is the site of Henry Hastings Sibley's home, who was the regional manager of the American Fur Company and Minnesota's first governor. It is one of the 26 historical sites that are operated by the Minnesota Historical Society. Located in what is now the city of Mendota, the site consists of four limestone buildings and a large lawn area. Three of the buildings are open for touring, including a fur company cold store from 1843 and the 1840 home of fur trader and hotelier Jean-Baptiste Faribault.

The Sibley House

The Sibley House, considered the oldest private residence in Minnesota, was built between 1835 and 1836 by a team of over 100 white and Dakota laborers, directed by John Mueller. It was made of limestone blocks cut from a nearby quarry. Sibley lived here as a bachelor for eight years, until his marriage to Sarah Jane Steele. After his marriage, Sibley turned the business office into a parlor, and an addition was built for a kitchen, dining room, two more rooms on the second floor, and an office on the east side. It was in this office that plans were drawn up for the Minnesota Territory, and it became the temporary territorial headquarters in May of 1840, when Governor Alexander Ramsey was a guest of Sibley.

When General Sibley moved to St. Paul in 1862, he sold his home to St. Peter's Catholic Parish. The Catholic Sisters used the home for a school and convent from 1867 to 1878, adding a belfry on the roof and remodeling the interior.

For the next few decades, the house was leased to different parties, including the artist Burt Harwood, as a studio and art school during the summers of 1897-1899. The house was then used briefly as a storehouse, but was soon abandoned and became a lodging place for railroad transients. These new tenants tore up the floorboards and staircases for firewood, and the house fell into ruin.

On April 19, 1910, the house was rescued from ruin by a joint effort from the St. Paul chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Mrs. Lucy Shepard McCourt, and Archbishop John Ireland of St. Peter's Parish. The house was restored by DAR chapters throughout the state, and was opened to the public on June 14, 1910.

In May 1997, the DAR turned the ownership of the Sibley Historic Site to State of Minnesota and the management to the Minnesota Historical Society.<ref"Houses of the Sibley Historic Site: The Sibley House". Retrieved 2012-02-17. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)</ref>

External links

• Sibley House Historic Site Website