The Ponds received permission in 1834 from Major Lawrence Taliaferro, the Indian agent at Fort Snelling, to establish a mission school near Bde Maka Ska (Lake Calhoun), where a band of Dakota spent their summers.

[4] The area served as a mission between 1843 and 1852, when the Dakota were sent to a reservation further up the Minnesota River as a result of the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux.

[6] Later, Pond started the Oak Grove Presbyterian Church, which was originally located on land which is now the Bloomington Cemetery.

[4] The home, located at 401 East 104th Street in Bloomington, is constructed of red brick and features chimneys serving each room.

[2] The home was occupied by Gideon and his wife Sarah, and is now open to the public on a limited basis.