Community Corner
Sibley House Fur Trade Rendezvous Explores Colorful Era
Henry Sibley House historic site in Mendota kicks off the season with reenactors and exhibits providing visitors a glimpse into Minnesota's past.
The 2011 season got off to a bang Friday as reenactors and visitors gathered to celebrate an old-fashioned rendezvous at the Sibley House historic site in Mendota.
The rendezvous featured more than a dozen reenactors demonstrating everything from how to skin a beaver and shoot an 1800s-era firearm to how to cook over an open fire and just how to live life in the Minnesota fur-trading era.
"The rendezvous was held in the spring and celebrated the end of the hunting season," said Ted Bores, site supervisor. "The trappers would sell furs, sign contracts and buy new supplies."
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The event also featured tours of the Sibley House site, which includes the restored home of fur trader Jean-Baptise Faribault and the home of Minnesota's first governor, Henry Sibley. The site was also the headquarters for the American Fur Company starting in the 1820s and contains five other historical buildings which remained active until the 1850s.
Visitors could stop in at a canoe camp and learn about the lives of voyageurs during the fur trade, meet history players portraying Henry and Sarah Sibley and learn about their lives at Mendota. They could also see how a trading post was set up, how the fur trade worked and learn about the roles played by the Dakota and Ojibwe in Minnesota's fur trade.
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The Sibley House historic site will have several special events this summer:
- River History dog walks in June, July and August
- City of Mendota walking tours June 19, July 17 and Aug. 21.
- A celebration honoring French Canadian and Metis heritage June 23.
- Children Day's July 9 and 10 featuring simulated archaeology digs.
- The site will also be open for tours Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend.
Day two of the Fur Trade Rendezvous will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 15. Entrance fees are: $6 adults, $5 seniors and college students, $4 children ages 6-17; free for children age 5 and under and Minnesota Historical Society members.
For more information on the Sibley House Historic Site, call 651-452-1596 or visit events.mnhs.org.