Fort L'Huillier (sometimes spelled Le Hillier) was a short-lived

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

located near the confluence of the Blue Earth and

Le Sueur River The Le Sueur River (''lay-SEWER'') is a tributary of the Blue Earth River, 111 miles (178 km) long, in southern Minnesota in the United States. Via the Blue Earth and Minnesota Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi Ri ...

s in what is now

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. The garrison, which originally held about 30 men, was built beginning in the autumn of 1700 under the direction of

Pierre-Charles Le Sueur Pierre-Charles Le Sueur (c. 1657, Artois, France – 17 July 1704, Havana, Cuba) was a French fur trader and explorer in North America, recognized as the first known European to explore the Minnesota River valley. Le Sueur came to Canada with ...

, a French trader and explorer interested in mining a blue clay that he thought was

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

ore. It was named in honor of a

metallurgical assay A metallurgical assay is a compositional analysis of an ore, metal, or alloy, usually performed in order to test for purity or quality. Some assay methods are suitable for raw materials; others are more appropriate for finished goods. Raw pre ...

er, Rémy-François L'Huillier. Le Sueur left the fort in 1701 to take samples to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

for further analysis. While he was gone, however, the fort was apparently attacked and abandoned by 1702, and no more was heard of the remaining men. In addition, the blue clay was found to be worthless, not the copper ore Le Sueur had hoped. The fort was southwest of the present city of

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

(from "mah kato: "blue earth" in the Sioux language). Its exact location is unknown, although attempts have been made to find it.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fort L'huillier Infrastructure completed in 1701 Buildings and structures in Blue Earth County, Minnesota L'Huillier L'Huillier 1700 establishments in the French colonial empire 1701 establishments in the French colonial empire