Union Presbyterian Church is a historic church at 730 S. Third Street in St. Peter, Minnesota. The community's origins date back to 1843, when Reverend

Stephen Return Riggs Stephen Return Riggs (March 23, 1812 – August 24, 1883) was a Christian missionary and linguist who lived and worked among the Dakota people. Riggs was born in Steubenville, Ohio. His career among the Dakota began in 1837 at Lac qui Parle ...

established a mission post at

Traverse des Sioux Traverse des Sioux is a historic site in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Once part of a pre-industrial trade route, it is preserved to commemorate that route, a busy river crossing on it, and a nineteenth-century settlement, trading post, and missi ...

. The mission operated until 1851, when the

Treaty of Traverse des Sioux The Treaty of Traverse des Sioux () was signed on July 23, 1851, at Traverse des Sioux in Minnesota Territory between the United States government and the Dakota people, Upper Dakota Sioux bands. In this land cession treaty, the Sisseton and Wahpe ...

was signed. In 1853, the First Free Presbyterian Church of Traverse Des Sioux was established with 12 members. They used the mission church until 1858, when a new stone church was built at a cost of $5000. A mile and a half south, in the town of St. Peter, Reverend Aaron H. Kerr led services in the Winslow Hotel. On October 25, 1857, Rev. Kerr established the First Presbyterian Church of St. Peter. During the

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several eastern bands of Dakota people, Da ...

, many refugees from the Traverse des Sioux area moved to the safety of St. Peter. On July 25, 1869, the two congregations merged and became the Union Presbyterian Church of St. Peter. They built a new church building in 1871 for $15,000, taking the bell from the church at Traverse des Sioux. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

References

External links

Church web site
Presbyterian churches in Minnesota Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Gothic Revival church buildings in Minnesota Churches completed in 1871 Buildings and structures in Nicollet County, Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Nicollet County, Minnesota {{Minnesota-Presbyterian-church-stub