Sleepy Eye History

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The City of Sleepy Eye was named after a Dakota Chief named Ish Tak Ha Ba, which means Sleepy Eyes or Drooping Eyelids The peacefull Indian got his name from the appearance of his eyes when he woke up and before he went to sleep. An unusually tall Indian (over 6 feet), he was born around 1780 in a Sisseton Dakota Village at Swan Lake in Nicollet County, he achieved fame through friendships with Traders, explorers, missionaries, government officials and other white settlers. In fact, he wasn't a hereditary chief at all, but was commisioned by the Bureau of Indian Affairs as one in 1824.

He and his band hunted a wide area between southwestern Minnesota and southeastern South Dakota. When some settlers were killed by Indians in 1857, it was demanded that he remain on reservation land along the Minnesota River. Sleepy Eyes agreed and from 1857-1859 his main village was at the lake that bears his name. He died in 1860 while hunting in Roberts County, South Dakota

"He fell off a really wild horse, and broke his neck and back, "That's what really killed him."

Some say that if Sleepy Eyes had been alive, the Dakota would not have gone on the warpath and the 1862 conflict between the settlers and the Indians might not have happened. In 1898, famous Dakota Chief Red Cloud showed where he was buried. "They hit the top of his head when they dug, He was buried in a sitting position. The City of Sleepy Eye disinterred his remains from South Dakota in 1902, reburying them in a small park with proper ceremonies. A tall obelisk marks his final resting place.

Sleepy Eye's wasn't always so popular, however. After the Dakota Conflict of 1862, settlers in the area were so infuriated with the Indians that they decided they did'nt want a town to be named after one. A Jan. 6,1880 election finally changed the town's name to Loreno. It didn't last long, though, and was changed to Sleepy Eye Lake, which was the original name, on May 2, 1881.

Birds eye View of Loreno (Now Sleepy Eye) 1880

Settlers had started to come into the area around 1862 when a few families acquired land around Sleepy Eye Lake. A man named Thomas Allison arrived in 1864, saw the potential for the area, and he decided he wanted a town located there. Since the railroad was so important to a town's survival, he conferred with and sold some land to the railroad's attorney, Walter Brackenridge. He knew that the railroad was heading for the vicinity of Leavenworth and he wanted it to come near Sleepy Eye Lake, as well. Together Allison and Brackenridge filed the first plat map for the Village of Sleepy Eye Set. 18, 1872.

After the Civil war, many veterans came through the area. Although Sleepy eye is now known as a German City, it started out with primarily Irish and English immigrants. As more and more people flocked to the village, the need of a charter and officers became necessary. A total of 80 men cast their votes in the first election held March 19, 1878 and English immigrant Francis Ibberson became the first village president.

An early industry in the town, beginning operations in 1883, was the Sleepy Eye flour Milling Company it became the biggest rural flour mill in the country, running until 1921.

Today, Del Monte, which opened a plant in 1930, is one of the largest Industries in Sleepy Eye. Area farmers bring sweet corn and peas to the plant to be processed.

Farming is still obviously a huge part of the city's economy. However, a grasshopper plaque in July 1873, which lasted until 1877, caused many farmers to move away, never to return.

Sleepy Eye's school systems got its start in 1867, with Allison erecting a 16 x 20 foot log building for the first school. The first teacher was reportedly a relative of Chief Sleepy Eyes, Justine LaFramboise.
Justine and Grandaughter Muriel ---- Sleepy Eye's first Schoolhouse
After the log school was eventually torn down in 1886, a new 3-story building was built in 1890. It burned down in 1895 and another school was erected in 1895. It lasted until 1982 when the present Sleepy Eye Public School was built. The first graduating class in 1890 had a total of just two students.

One especially proud legacy of the city involves the Sleepy Eye Drum and Bugle Corp. Founded in 1927, the corps won many state and national titles in the next few decades before disbanding.


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Sleepy Eye, Minnesota

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