Learn About The History Of Eagan's Pilot Knob Road, Yankee Doodle

EAGAN, MN — Eagan is home to perhaps two of the most unique-sounding road names in the state; Yankee Doodle Road and Pilot Knob Road.

Pilot Knob was named after the historic "Pilot Knob" site in Mendota Heights.

"Riverboat pilots in the 1800s would know that they’re almost to downtown St. Paul, or what was becoming St. Paul, when they got to that location," Gail Lewellan, co-chair of the Pilot Knob Preservation Association, told the Star Tribune.

According to the Pilot Knob Preservation website,"Oheyawahi" or "Pilot Knob" is a place of "cultural importance to the Dakota community."

In 1851, a treaty signed on Pilot Knob with the United States government led to the Dakota ceding most of the area that became southeastern Minnesota.

Between 1862 and 1863, Dakota people were held near Fort Snelling during the winter. Many died and were buried at Pilot Knob. The Dakota people were eventually forced to leave Minnesota by the U.S. government.

According to the Star Tribune, "Old Schmidt Road" became "Yankee Doodle Road" during WWI because a local farmer of German descent was tired of being harassed for his name.

Read more at the Star Tribune.