In 1847 a letter was sent by Rev. Dr. Williamson of the Sioux Mission at Kaposoia to the Board of National Popular Education, chaired by former Governor Slade of Vermont. The letter was placed in Harriet Bishop’s hands by Catherine Beecher, who opened a summer school to send teachers to communities in the west where there were no schools.

It is one of the earliest descriptions of St. Paul. Harriet Bishop responded by coming to St. Paul.