South St Paul

City in southeastern Minnesota, on the Mississippi River, 6 km/4 mi southeast of St Paul; population (1990) 20,200. It is a centre for livestock trade; related industries include meatpacking, tanning, and railway repair shops. The Farmers Union Control Exchange is an important farm-supply cooperative. Construction materials are also produced.

Settled in the 1850s on the site of a Sioux village, South St Paul emerged as an important transportation hub for barge, overland, and, later, rail traffic. Stockyards were founded here in the 1880s, eventually developing into one of the world's largest public livestock markets. There has been recent commercial development at the western edge of the city.