PIPESTONE

city, seat of Pipestone county, southwestern Minnesota, U.S., on Coteau des Prairies, near the South Dakota state line. Laid out in 1876, it developed with the coming of the railroads (187984), was incorporated (1901), and is the business centre for a mixed-farming area. The Pipestone National Monument, immediately northwest, has quarries of a reddish-coloured stone that was used by Plains Indians to make ceremonial peace pipes. The site, considered sacrosanct, was long fought over by the Indians before being declared neutral ground. The stone (named catlinite for George Catlin, an artist) is reserved for the Indians who quarry it under special permits issued by the National Park Service. Longfellow popularized the quarries in The Song of Hiawatha, and the city has a Hiawatha Club and stages an annual pageant. Pop. (1990) 4,554.