Fort Beauharnois
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Fort Beauharnois was a French fort (or fur post) built on the shores of Lake Pepin, a wide part of the upper Mississippi River, in 1727. The location chosen was on lowlands and the fort was rebuilt in 1730 on higher ground. It was the site of the first Roman Catholic chapel in Minnesota, which was dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel. The fort was named after the Governor of New France at the time, Charles de Beauharnois.
The French burned the fort as they fled after attacks by Sioux warriors. It was later rebuilt in 1750 and presumably renamed Fort la Jonquiere. (This naming would have recognized Marquis de la Jonquière who was the new governor of New France.) Eventually it was abandoned as the French sent most of their troops to the east to fight the British in the French and Indian War.
Today, an Ursuline convent and the Villa Maria Conference Center stand on the site of the old fort, in Wacouta Township, Minnesota, in Goodhue County, Minnesota, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
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