Ep. 08 - In a Pig's Eye
- Jan 31
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 2
“Did you know the city of Saint Paul used to be called ‘Pig’s Eye’?”
It’s a favorite “fun fact” repeated by local know-it-alls, (note: as “know-it-alls” ourselves, we use that term with respect), confirmed by every book written to date on the history of Saint Paul. It’s a great story. There’s just one problem with it: most of it is not true.
Join us as we learn the TRUE story of “Pig’s Eye” Parrant and the naming of Saint Paul.
Map
Here's a map we made showing some of the locations relevant to the story of Pierre Parrant.
Some notes on it: In the bottom left corner you can see Fort Snelling on the bluff above the junction of the Mississppi and Minnesota (then known as St. Peter's) rivers; the Minnesota is joining from the south, the rest of the river visible here is the Mississippi. (Though the Mississippi mostly runs north to south, in this section it briefly turns north in a sideways 'S' bend before heading south again.) Just north of the fort is the collection of huts and saloons that was nicknamed "Rum Town." If one were to continue to follow the river north from there, you would pass Minnehaha Creek (visible just above Rum Town) and in about nine miles hit the St. Anthony Falls (modern downtown Minneapolis). In 1838, military authorities evicted the residents of "Rum Town," including Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant. Parrant would relocate to four separate locations within the next three years, moving from west to east, each spot marked by a red star on this map.
Parrant first set up a new saloon near the mouth of Fountain Cave (more on this cave and its fascinating history in a section below). Next he squatted for only a few months at the future site of St. Paul's "Upper Landing" (near the base of present day Eagle Street), then near the future "Lower Landing" (just east of the present day Union Depot), and finally to a spot in present-day Woodbury near the entrance to a large wetland / flood plain. He likely picked this spot because the entire area was crisscrossed with unusually clear streams fed by underground springs (the same springs feed the modern fish hatchery). It was this fourth and final spot where he erected a dock, and this became known as "Pig's Eye Landing," a name that persisted even after he moved away to parts unknown sometime in 1841 or 1842. A large pond / small lake behind Parrant's claim at "Pig's Eye Landing" eventually became known as "Pig's Eye Lake." This original body of water no longer exists in any form like it did originally, disrupted by railroads and other construction. In the 1930s the lock and dam system put into place by the Army Corps of Engineers flooded the surrounding wetlands further, creating a larger body of water to the north of the site of "Pig's Eye Landing." The newly created body of water was given the name of "Pig's Eye Lake," and is still called that to this day. Nearby is "Pig's Eye Regional Park." What is significant for our story is that the modern "Pigs Eye Lake," which sits within the present boundaries of Saint Paul, is about two miles north of where Pierre Parrant actually settled.
That modern body of water is visible on this map, and the contours of the river are modern ones, because we overlayed this map on modern satellite images. That said, we did add back in a few creeks and streams that used to flow through the St. Paul area, because these creeks provided clean (relatively speaking) water and tended to be where the first European American settlers based their land claims. Each time he moved, Pierre Parrant was settling near creek ravines that were already getting crowded with land claims from other former "Rum Town" denizens before he arrived. Today, these historic watersheds are entirely underground, subsumed by the city's storm drain system.
Images
There are no known images of Pierre Parrant, and no reliable physical descriptions of him apart from his notable slit eye. The image at the top of this page is allegedly "drawn from remembrance by a phsyiognomist" and comes from an 1892 broadside:
In 1991, a group of St. Paul brewers and investors formed the Minnesota Brewing Company and re-opened the then-dormant Schmidt Brewery on West 7th in St. Paul. Their first beer, Landmark, did not sell well. But in 1992, they introduced "Pig's Eye Pilsener," which was a marked success. This beer label gave us a much more romantic, swashbuckling image of Pierre Parrant:
While the beer became a local favorite, there was not enough business to keep the Minnesota Brewing Company from folding in 2002. Over the subsequent years the recipe and branding for the Pig's Eye Pilsner has been revived several different times by different local brewers, all of which also went out of business. This iconic beer was last produced in 2023. However, the image remains on signs outside numerous St. Paul neighborhood bars.
A much less flattering artistic depiction can be found on Harriet Island, among various bas relief depictions of St. Paul history:
Fittingly, Lucian Galtier, the first Catholic Priest to set up a parish in Minnesota and namer of St. Paul, gets a much nicer portrait. This one was actually drawn from life:
And here is the log cabin chapel from which the parish and eventual city of St. Paul takes its name:
Fountain Cave
As mentioned in the episode, the first spot Pierre Parrant settled after being evicted from "Rum Town" was just outside the entrance to Fountain Cave. Though now hidden underground, Fountain Cave has a fascinating history in its own right. It was a prominent early landmark in the fledgling community and a popular tourist site. The cave was located about where Randolph Ave meets Shepard Road in St. Paul. The present Grotto Street, which terminated nearby, was named after this cave. Though geologists estimate the cave itself to be over 10,000 years old, it is likely that the opening had long been covered by debris until a cliff collapsed sometime in the early 1800s. The cave was first noted by local Dakota residents around 1811, who named it "teca iƞyaƞ tipi," meaning, "new stone cave." In 1817, a group of Dakota led Major Stephen Long and a group of military topographical surveyors to the site. Long's Dakota guides stressed that this cave was fairly new even to them, in contrast to other caves in the region that held deep cultural and spiritual significance to the Dakota.
European American settlers later named it "Fountain Cave," because a stream flowed out of the mouth of the cave. This stream emanated from an underground aquifer that also fed several nearby streams. Today, both of these aboveground streams and the cave stream are mostly contained within the city's storm drain system, entering the river through concrete culverts. However, if you know where to look, there are still a few spots where water bursts from the rocks to form small waterfalls in the wooded bluffs nearby.
Fountain Cave became a favorite site for early European American settlers to visit and carve their names and initials in the soft sandstone at its mouth. The earliest image we have is a painting from 1850, which already depicts plenty of scratched graffiti:
The cave entrance became a popular picnic spot, and touring the cave's stream by canoe was a popular pastime recommended by most guidebooks of the 19th century. Many stereographs and engravings aimed at tourists were produced.
By the early 20th century, however, the city had grown and the cave became a receptacle for trash and sewage from the surrounding neighborhood. Though the cave remained, its entrance became overgrown and references to it disappear from guidebooks.
In the 1960s, the cave was sealed up permanently in order to construct Shepard Road across the entrance. A nearby plaque is all that's left on the site to mark its memory.
To learn even more about the fascinating history of this cave, check out this thorough article from Minnesota's premiere cave expert, Greg Brick.
Sources Cited
Berthal, Mary Wheelhouse. Horns of Thunder: The Life and Times of James M. Goodhue Including Selections From His Writings. (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1948)
Brick, Greg. "St. Paul Underground - What Happened to Fountain Cave?" Ramsey County History. 29:4 (Winter 1995) pp. 4-15 Cooper, Karen. When Minnehaha Flowed with Whiskey: A Spirited History of the Falls. (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2023)
Galtier, Lucian. "Memoir of Rev. Lucian Galtier: First Catholic Priest of St. Paul." Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society. (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1880)
Goff, Matt. "Not Everything You've Heard About Pig's Eye Parrant Is True," Ramsey County History. 56:1 (Spring 2021) pp. 20-29.
Goodhue, James M. "Minnesota Pioneer to Its Patrons," Minnesota Pioneer, January 2nd, 1850, p. 2.
Hage, George S. Newspapers on the Minnesota frontier, 1849-1860. (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1967)
Williams, J. Fletcher. A History of Saint Paul to 1875. (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1876)
Wingerd, Mary Lethert. Claiming the City: Politics, Faith, and the Power of Place in St. Paul. (New York: Cornell University Press, 2003)
Podcast Credits
Minnesota Unknown is produced, hosted, written, and researched by Alex Weston, Hannah Norton, and Josie Bergmann. This episode was edited by Alex Weston. Our theme song is by Union Shakedown. This episode is copyright 2026 by Minnesota Unknown, LLC. All rights reserved.
If you have questions, comments, corrections, complaints, or compliments, or would like to suggest a topic for a future episode, please email us at info@minnesotaunknown.com. We’d truly love to hear from you!
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