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<p><b>Plymouth</b> is the <a href="/pages/w/143616548983086">seventh largest city</a> in the <a href="/pages/w/109424399076333">U.S. state</a> of <a href="/pages/w/112577505420980">Minnesota</a>. Located 15mi west of downtown <a href="/pages/w/107981782555892">Minneapolis</a> in <a href="/pages/w/112258878790187">Hennepin County</a>, the city is the third largest <a href="/pages/w/112263862119865">suburb</a> of <a href="/pages/w/108049385895394">Minneapolis–Saint Paul</a>, which is the sixteenth largest <a href="/pages/w/108526922505499">metropolitan area</a> in the <a href="/pages/w/112463092102121">United States</a>, with about 3.52 million residents. The population was 70,576 at the <a href="/pages/w/104097652960274">2010 Census</a>.</p><p>Once named for <a href="/pages/w/106109629420989">Medicine Lake</a>, the city's name was chosen by Hennepin County Commissioners during the county's inception.</p><h2>History</h2><p>Plymouth's history can be traced back to the <a href="/pages/w/108326919192369">pre-Columbian period</a> around 1400 to 1500 AD. The original inhabitants were the <a href="/pages/w/109453909081845">Dakota</a>. Their encampment was at the north end of <a href="/pages/w/106109629420989">Medicine Lake</a>. The name Medicine Lake is derived from the <a href="/pages/w/115940498416457">Dakota</a> word <a href="/pages/w/137965662894740">Mdewakanton</a>, meaning "Lake of the Spirit." The Dakota named the lake after a warrior overturned his canoe and his body was never recovered.</p><p>Antoine LeCounte, a guide and explorer, was the first settler to this area. He arrived in 1848, but did not settle until 1852. He carried mail from the <a href="/pages/w/110912958959194">Red River</a> country to points south, trading goods to Native Americans for horses on the way. LeCounte built the first cabin at what is now East Medicine Lake Boulevard at 29th Avenue North.</p>