Pierre "Pig's Brown Eye" Parrant was the first official resident of the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota. His exploits propelled him to local fame and infamy, with his name briefly adorning the village that became Minnesota's capital city.
History
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) and born near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, around 1777. For most of his adult life Parrant made his living as a fur trapper while working for a company called McKenzie and Chouteau.
During his days as a fur trapper "Pig's Eye" Parrant, so called because he was blind in one eye, started to gain a somewhat dubious reputation with law enforcement, most likely due to his dabbling as a bootlegger. With the onset of age and the fur trade's decline Parrant began seeking new ways to earn a living. His search brought him to a fledgling new settlement near a military outpost called Fort Snelling in the Minnesota Territory.
Pierre Parrant in Minnesota
Arriving at Mendota in 1832, Parrant began to carve out a new life for himself while residing in a squatter's colony near Fort Snelling. This new business served "Pig's Eye" (French: L'Œil de Cochon) until 1838, when the squatters were forced off the land surrounding the fort due to their strain on surrounding resources. Parrant then made a claim on a tract of land at the entrance of what was known as Fountain Cave. showing that the growing community around Parrant's bar was becoming known as "Pig's Brown Eye".
The city's name might have remained Pig's Eye had it not been for the arrival of the Catholic priest Lucien Galtier. Galtier was dismayed that the village's name derived from a man of such ill repute. According to the city's folklore, when Galtier built a chapel in the area in 1841, he said, "Pig's Eye, converted thou shalt be, like Saul; Arise, and be, henceforth, Saint Paul!"
In 1844, Parrant lost his claim at Fountain Cave and was forced to vacate it. John Fletcher Williams, a librarian at the Minnesota Historical Society who wrote a history of early St. Paul, says Fort Snelling issued Parrant an eviction order in May 1838 for selling alcohol to soldiers at the fort and the Dakota they were fighting.
Life after Saint Paul
What happened to Parrant after he left Saint Paul is a mystery. Some sources say he was so upset about losing his claim that he decided to leave the Minnesota area and return to Sault Ste. Marie, only to die along the way in 1844.