History Pequot Lakes, Minnesota

the water tower in pequot lakes decorated fishing bobber.

pequot lakes platted in march 1900. named postal official first indian-sounding name thought of, name of former tribe of algonquian indians in eastern connecticut. post office established @ pequot lakes in 1896.

according pequot lakes heritage preservation commission, city once called sibley , frogtown renamed pequot. in 1900, walter , flora brown filed plat e 1/2 of sw 1/4 section 10 in t136n-r29w under title pequot. pequot indians tribe used dominate southeastern new england before english colonists arrived. while no pequot tribe members lived in minnesota, spoke algonquian language related of local chippewa (ojibwe) tribes. author herman melville named lead ship in novel moby-dick pequod.

two possible explanations town s name arise:

1. local historian carl zapffe suggests variation of chippewa word arrow (bikwas), listed father barroga in chippewa dictionary, gave rise word pequot.

2. in 1936 interview, laurence anderson, moved town in mid-1890s, gave following explanation. daughter of waubanaquot, chief of white earth tribe, named o-pequot , lived north of town on north end of sibley lake. graciously allowed dugout home used school , church settlers of town. when died, buried in town cemetery.

because there town named sibley in southwest minnesota, u.s. post office said second sibley had take new name. in event, town officially became pequot in 1902.