The distribution center for the great Northwest and dignified capital of Minnesota, stately St. Paul had its humble beginnings in a settlement known as "Pig's Eye." At the great bend of the Mississippi and tangent to the point where the waters of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers meet, St. Paul and its twin city, Minneapolis, form a mighty northern metropolis. Together, they are a center for computers, electronics, medical technology, printing, and publishing. In many ways they complement each other, yet they are also friendly rivals. Fiercely proud of their professional sports teams (baseball's Minnesota Twins, football's Minnesota Vikings, and basketball's Minnesota Timberwolves), the partisans of both cities troop to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Stadium in Minneapolis, as well as other arenas in the area, to watch their heroes in action.

A terraced city of diversified industry and lovely homes, St. Paul boasts 30 lakes within a 30-minute drive, as well as more than 90 parks. St. Paul is home to 3M Companies and other major corporations.

The junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers was chosen in 1807 as the site for a fort that later became known as Fort Snelling. Squatters soon settled on the reservation lands nearby, only to be expelled in 1840 with one group moving a few miles east and a French-Canadian trader, Pierre Parrant, settling at the landing near Fort Snelling. Parrant was nicknamed "Pig's Eye," and the settlement that developed at the landing took this name.

When Father Lucien Galtier built a log cabin chapel there in 1841, he prevailed on the settlers to rename their community for St. Paul. A Mississippi steamboat terminus since 1823, St. Paul prospered on river trade, furs, pioneer traffic, and agricultural commerce. Incorporated as a town in 1849, it was host to the first legislature of the Minnesota Territory and has been the capital ever since.

A number of institutions of higher education are located in St. Paul, including the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities Campus, University of St. Thomas, College of St. Catherine, Macalester College, Hamline University, Concordia University, Bethel College, and William Mitchell College of Law.