Pigs Eye Island

This low, swampy island is home to Minnesota’s largest heron rookery. But it is perhaps best known for the role it played in the story of Pierre “Pig’s Eye” Parrant, the first settler in what is now St. Paul (and whose whiskey operation gave the area it’s first name, Pig’s Eye).

After losing or selling the claim near Fountain Cave that made Parrant famous, he tried to stake a claim to a site on the island (then known as Pointe LeClaire) in 1844. The island’s existing tenant, a carpenter named Michel LeClaire, objected and took Parrant to court. Neither claim was clearly superior, so the judge ruled that neither man had properly staked a claim and the first person to do so would get the land. That led to an eight-mile footrace through swamp and forest, a race that the far-younger LeClaire narrowly won.

Parrant was so incensed at the outcome that he left Minnesota for good, leaving behind a legend. He also got the last laugh on LeClaire, as the island in question now bears his name. It’s also now home to Minnesota’s largest sewage-treatment plant.

Drawing of Pierre “Pig’s Eye” Parrant. Source: Minnesota Historical Society.