Mankato was founded in 1852 and recently celebrated its sesquicentennial. Mankato is the Anglicized form of the Dakota mahkato or "green-blue earth," a reference to the characteristic blue clay deposits in the region, thought to contain copper by early explorers. The city was reputedly intended to have been named Mahkato, but a typographical error by a clerk established the name as Mankato. Interestingly, mankato in the Dakota language means blue skunk. On December 26, 1862, the largest mass capital punishmentexecution in History of the United StatesU.S. history occurred in Mankato following the Sioux Uprising. Thirty-eight Dakota Amerindians were hanged for participation in the uprising; a total of 303 were sentenced to be hanged but Abraham LincolnPresident Lincoln pardoned 265 at the urging of Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple. Lincoln's intervention was not popular at the time. Two commemorative statues are located on the site of the hangings (now home to the Blue Earth County Library and Reconciliation Park). Former Vice President of the United StatesVice President Schuyler Colfax died while traveling in Mankato on January 13, 1885. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mankato%2C_Minnesota