“1856” is etched above the doorway, marking the year this brick house was built. This is the Gideon H. Pond House. The Pond Dakota Heritage Society preserves this house. This place shares historical knowledge. It tells about the Dakota people and early white settlers. It also speaks of Christian missionaries like Samuel and Gideon Pond.
The Pond Dakota Heritage Society sponsors events here. They offer programs for all ages. The Gideon and Agnes Pond House sits in Pond Dakota Mission Park. You will find it at 401 East 104th Street in Bloomington.
Gideon Hollister Pond and his brother Samuel came to Minnesota in 1834. Their mission was to teach Christianity to the Indians. They also wanted to teach them agriculture. Major Lawrence Taliaferro gave them permission. He was the Indian agent at Fort Snelling. They started a mission school near Bde Maka Ska, or Lake Calhoun. A band of Dakota spent their summers there.
Gideon began writing a Dakota language dictionary. In 1839, war broke out. It was between the Dakota and the Ojibwa. The Dakota band moved to a village near the Minnesota River. Gideon Pond moved with them. He set up a mission along the river bluffs. This mission existed from 1843 to 1852. Then, the Dakota were sent to a reservation. It was further up the Minnesota River. This was a result of the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux. Pond then bought this land. He became a farmer.
He also served in the Minnesota territorial House of Representatives. Later, Pond started the Oak Grove Presbyterian Church. It was originally on land that is now the Bloomington Cemetery. The church later moved. It went to the corner of Penn Avenue and Old Shakopee Road.
The Gideon H. Pond House stands at 401 East 104th Street in Bloomington. It is made of red brick. Chimneys serve each room. Gideon and his wife Sarah lived here. It is now open to the public on a limited basis.
The Gideon H. Pond House is on the National Register of Historic Places. The site includes the Oak Grove Mission site. There is also a cemetery. You will also find the remains of the Pond family farm and orchards. This place is important in the history of the Minnesota River valley. It also holds significance for the Dakota tribe and Bloomington.
In 1910, a two-story addition was built. In 1995, a full restoration occurred. The two-story addition was replaced. It was replaced with a replica of the original preemption house.
The Pond House became an interpretive learning center. This happened in 1954. A major part of the project was removing the 1910 addition. Then, they reconstructed the original pre-emption house. It held the kitchen and woodshed.
Kodet worked to return Pond House to its historic appearance. They also made it accessible to all visitors. Kodet created a wheelchair-accessible entrance. The Pond House is more than just a building. It is a portal to the past. It allows us to understand the complex history of this land.