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- Saint Paul is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, the county seat of Ramsey County, and the state capital of Minnesota. The origin and growth of the city were spurred by the proximity of Fort Snelling, the first major United States military installation in the area, as well as by the city's location on the northernmost navigable port of the Upper Mississippi River. Fort Snelling, originally known as Fort Saint Anthony, was established in 1819, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers in order to establish American dominance of the fur-trading industry on the rivers. As the whiskey trade started to flourish, military officers in Fort Snelling banned distillers from the land the fort controlled. Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant, a retired French Canadian fur trader turned bootlegger, was a particular source of irritation to military officers. In 1838, Parrant moved his bootlegging operation downstream about 5 miles (8.0 km) to Fountain Cave，situated in the north bank of the river near what is now Saint Paul's West Seventh Street neighborhood. There, Parrant established the area which became known as "L'Œil de Cochon" (French for "Pig's Eye") and the new location began to be settled by fellow French Canadians, as well as others exiled from Fort Snelling. An 1837 treaty with local Native Americans secured the city for white settlement. In 1841, the settlement was named Saint-Paul by Father Lucien Galtier, a priest from France, in honor of Paul the Apostle. By the early 1840s the area had become important as a trading center, a stopping point for settlers heading west, and was known regionally as Pig's Eye or Pig's Eye Landing. The Minnesota Territory was formalized in 1849 with Saint Paul named as its capital. Saint Paul was incorporated as a city in 1854, and in 1858, Minnesota was admitted as the 32nd state of the union with Saint Paul becoming the capital. Natural geography played a role in the settlement and development of Saint Paul as a trade and transportation center. The Mississippi River valley in the area surrounding the city is defined by numerous stone bluffs that line both sides of the river. Saint Paul developed around Lambert's Landing, the last easily accessible point to unload boats coming upriver, some 14 miles (23 km) downstream from Saint Anthony Falls, the geographic feature that defined the location of Minneapolis and its prominence as the "Mill City". This made Saint Paul a gateway to the Upper Midwest for settlers heading westbound to the Minnesota frontier or the Dakota Territory. In 1858, more than 1,000 steamboats unloaded cargo and passengers at Saint Paul. The Saint Anthony Trail, a cart and wagon road, led from Saint Paul to the Red River valley. The trail was followed by numerous railroads that were headquartered in Saint Paul, such as the Great Northern Railway and Northern Pacific Railway, which are today part of the BNSF Railway. For well over a hundred years, Saint Paul was a frontier town and a railroad town. By the late 20th century, the city became more influenced by commerce, as well as its role as the state capital. It has been called "The Last City of the East". The character of the city has been defined by its people, beginning with Indigenous people such as the Kaposia band of the Mdewakanton Dakota, who have for centuries called the area that is now Saint Paul their home. Throughout its history, first-generation immigrants have been a dominant force in Saint Paul, introducing their languages, religions, and cultures. The influx of peoples is illustrated by the city's institutions, built by French, French Canadian, German, Swedish, Irish, Czech, Austro-Hungarian, Polish, Italian, Mexican, Somali, and Hmong people. (en)
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