St. Peter's Catholic Church in Mendota Heights is the oldest church in continuous use in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Established as a community in 1840, a log church was built in 1842, and the still-
The stone church and steeple
The church c. 1890
The church c. 1885
The church interior c. 1899
Jean-Baptiste Faribault
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Jean-Baptiste Faribault was a trader with the North West Company and the American Fur Company who traded with the Dakota and other indigenous groups, and an early settler in Minnesota.
Saint Peter's Church (Mendota, Minnesota)
…at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers. Before a church building was constructed, Catholics first worshipped in a house owned by Jean-Baptiste Faribault. While Galtier was on a missionary tour in Wisconsin in the summer of 1842, the house collapsed, nearly killing Father Augustin Ravoux who was taking…
Faribault circa 1860
Ambrotype (c. 1850) of "George and Euphrasine Faribault's wedding portrait. Left to right, top: Alexander Faribault, Fr. Augustin Ravoux. Left to right, bottom: George Faribult, Euphrasine St. Antoine Faribault, Jean-Baptiste Faribault."
His home in Mendota, Minnesota