 Construction on Fort Snelling began in 1820 and was finished in 1825 . The Fort became a magnet for settlement in east @-@ central Minnesota . Nearby Mendota was established during the same period and , as the regional headquarters for the American Fur Company , also drew settlement in the area soon becoming Minnesota 's commercial center . Many of the first stone buildings in the territory were constructed in Mendota by employees of the American Fur Company , which bought animal pelts at that location from 1825 to 1853 . 
