At first glance, Mankato looked like a "Mall town" with no history at all. Because I did not grow up here it was easy to make that first impression. I did not even know where to find "Old Mankato". Upon taking the tour I have found an appreciation for this city, mostly due to the extensive adaptive reuse. This is evident all over Mankato, but I mostly admire the buildings and landmarks. There is history here, physical historical evidence as well as written documentation, that shows the people of Mankato loved there town and tried hard to keep it intact. Adaptive reuse is found all over. The old Carnegie public library, which was built in 1903, now hosts the Blue Earth Government center. The Cray Mansion was donated to the city of Mankato to house the YWCA, the Young Women's Christian Association. I would not have done this to such a great historical monument. I would have donated it to the local historical society so it could be properly managed and taken care of. Of course this is just my opinion. Many other fancy houses have been turned into business and the like. There is a motel, which was built in the 1950’s; it has become Inn Towne Apartments. Earl Johnson furniture stores was once a tractor repair and machinery sales shop.

Other things that add flavor are, the way old signs and painted advertisements like the "Coca-Cola 5 cents" sign are still visible. In the beginning there were no roads, only Indian trails. Front Street then later became the main street in Mankato. The site was selected because of the close access to the river (the river is also were the street got its shape). The early settlers felt safer, from danger, because it was easier to get away by boat than to try and navigate the "Big Woods" or the tall grasses of the prairie. This was also a good break of bulk point and the natural resources were abundant. As the town grew there were more and more roads built, many of which were named after those first settlers or their children. Some streets on that list would be: Jackson, Warren, Van Brunt, Marshal, Hubbell, Maxfield, Dickinson, Fuller, Shaubut, Lamm, Marsh and Monk.

Tourtellotte Hospital was the first hospital, built 1n 1888 until it became too costly for the city to keep up. The two Tourtellotte sisters who ran the hospital bought a house on Sixth Street in 1898, they thought that this would be a more suitable site than the old one which did not have running water. They continued to run both hospitals until 1903 until the Tourtellotte site was discontinued, manly because of urban renewal. There was a new hospital built on the corner of Washington and Fifth St., down the hill from the sisters house, they named it St. Joseph’s Hospital. The hospital then expanded in 1913.
Now it is Gus Johnson Plaza and Downtowner Apartments combined. My favorite
area on the tour would be the landmarks, for example, the old bus depot, built in the early to mid 1900’s, it still stands on Cherry and Front St.. Also the First National Bank which came to Mankato in 1886, the same year as the railroad. The bank building is now the Ellerbe building. Finely, for me, the most memorable monument/landmark was the one that is standing on the corner of Main and Front St.. This marks the place were 36 Sioux Indians were hanged, on December 26^th 1862. During the monument prefatory phase Judge Lorin Cray and others, held a meeting in 1912 to discuss what had happened there, 50 years earlier. There was much deliberation and research to find the exact spot that it happened. Then the committee decided that this spot would be where the 8500-pound monument made of St. Cloud gray granite, and reads on the inscription, "Here were hanged 38 Sioux Indian". There are many different opinions as conflicts concerning this "marker" from many different groups. Also there have been attempts at defacing it, removing it, and even renaming it. But all in all it still stands in the same place.
 
 

Anna M. Wieking, “As we once were”, 1971, page 26
The Free Press, “Chronicles of a Century”  1999, page 34
Elizabeth ~Drea~ Lange
Intro. to the city
Tour paper
4/17/00