Pierre Parrant

Sources disagree about Parrant's exact history before settling in the Minnesota Territory, but most indicate that he was of French Canadian origin (or perhaps Métis)[2] and born near Sault Ste.

Then, around June 1, 1838, Parrant completed a small shack that, according to an 1892 publication by Albert A. Jones, became "the first habitation, and the first business house of Saint Paul.

[4]: 65 Fountain Cave was an excellent location for Parrant's claim, as the spring inside it provided a steady water supply for his still.

[1]: 147  Parrant had become so popular, in fact, that when a nearby resident named Joseph R. Brown sent a letter to a friend in 1839 he gave the return address simply as "Pig's Eye".

Not long after, Brown received correspondence at the address he had given,[7] showing that the growing community around Pierre's bar was becoming known as "Pig's Eye".

So aghast was Galtier that the village on the river derived its name from a man of such ill repute that, when he built his small chapel in the area in 1841, he reportedly stated, "Pig's Eye, converted thou shalt be, like Saul; Arise, and be, henceforth, Saint Paul!

Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant, first settler in Saint Paul, MN
Fountain Cave, site of the first saloon in Saint Paul, Minnesota, operated by Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant