Schools

'Henry Sibley' Name Stripped From Mendota Heights School

Henry Sibley​ was involved in the killing of 38 Dakota men in Mankato, which remains the largest mass execution in U.S. history​.

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Henry Hastings Sibley (1811-1891). American politician. Delegate from Wisconsin Territory to U.S. Congress 1848-49, delegate from Minnesota Territory to U.S. Congress 1849-53, member, Minnesota Legislature 1855, governor of Minnesota 1858-60.
Henry Hastings Sibley (1811-1891). American politician. Delegate from Wisconsin Territory to U.S. Congress 1848-49, delegate from Minnesota Territory to U.S. Congress 1849-53, member, Minnesota Legislature 1855, governor of Minnesota 1858-60. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MN — The West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan school board Monday voted to remove "Henry Sibley" from the name of the Mendota Heights high school. Sibley was Minnesota's first governor and later a colonel during the U.S.-Dakota War.

According to the Star Tribune, Sibley oversaw the 1862 military commission that sentenced 303 Dakota men to death, including the 38 who were hanged in Mankato, Minnesota.

The killing of the 38 Dakota men in Mankato remains the largest mass execution in United States history.

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The Minnesota Historical Society operates the "Sibley Historic Site" in nearby Mendota.

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