Lac qui Parle Mission open house scheduled for Sunday

The Chippewa County Historical Society will host an Open House at the Lac qui Parle Mission on Sunday, April 28 from 1-3 p.m.

The Lac qui Parle Mission is located six miles north of Montevideo on Highway 59 and 2.2 miles west on Chippewa County Highway 13. A volunteer from the Historical Society will be on hand to answer questions about this historic site.

There is no admission fee to visit this site or to attend the open house.

The Lac qui Parle Mission overlooks the beautiful “Lake that Speaks” and began in 1835 by the Congregational and Presbyterian ministries.

The original church building was built in 1840 and is known as the first church and school erected in the Minnesota River Valley. The present wooden chapel, a Works Project Administration building, stands on the site of the original adobe structure. New exhibit panels were installed in 2016.

The panels are entitled: The Holy House, Kinship, The Dakota Language, Learning and Teaching and Dakota Clergy: A Legacy. Visitors can ring the church bell, echoing the sound of the original, traditionally known as the first church bell in Minnesota.

Less than a mile north of the Mission is Fort Renville, built by Joseph Renville, a prominent force behind the Lac qui Parle Mission and an explorer who once led Zebulon Pike to the Upper Mississippi.

The Mission is proud of its many “Minnesota firsts” such as the first English School held in the Minnesota River Valley, the first corn mill, the first woven cloth and the first church bell that was tolled.

At this historic site, the Dakota alphabet was formulated, a spelling book in Dakota was written and the Bible was translated into Dakota. The well-known tune, “Lac qui Parle” for the hymn, “Many and Great, Oh God, Are Thy Things,” was composed here.

Please join the society as they open the Lac qui Parle Mission for the season and share one of the western Minnesota’s best kept secrets. For more information, please call the Chippewa County Historical Society at 320-269-7636, email at chippewahistory@outlook.com, or visit the website at www.chippewacohistory.org.