Lower Sioux Agency Historic Site, 32469 Redwood County Highway 2, Morton, Minnesota
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Lower Sioux Agency Historic Site | |
Address: | 32469 Redwood County Highway 2 |
City/locality- State/province | Morton, Minnesota |
County- State/province: | Redwood County, Minnesota |
State/province: | Minnesota |
Country: | United States |
Year Established: | 1853 |
Historic Function: | Battle site |
Current Function: | Historic site |
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National Register of Historic Places Information | |
Reference Number: | 70000308 |
Reference URL: | [Reference] |
Certification date: | September 22, 1970 |
Level of significance: | State |
The Lower Sioux Agency site was established by the United States Government in 1853 as an administrative center. The oldest remaining building is the restored 1861 stone warehouse. the Agency became the scene of the first organized attack in the 1862 U.S.-Dakota War.
The U.S. government created the Agency after treaties in 1851 reduced the Eastern Dakota's (Eastern Sioux) home to just 4 percent of their traditional lands across southern and western Minnesota. Over the next nine years, some Dakota families adapted to the new agricultural way of life promoted by the government on the small reservation along the Minnesota River, but many more did not. By the summer of 1862, unkept promises by the government, nefarious practices by nearby fur traders, and a crop failure in 1861 added to the growing tension at the Agency. On the morning of Aug.18, the Dakota attacked the fur traders' stores and then the Lower Sioux Agency, destroying buildings and taking food for their families. In the next six weeks 500 or more people on both sides were killed. The war was devastating for all involved.
Self-guided trails interpret the grounds.Contents |
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