In the historical center of the city, on Pervomayskaya Street, there is a monument to the Cossacks who founded the Yessentukskaya stanitsa. In 1798, a military redoubt was built on the right bank of the Yessentuk River to protect the southern borders of the state. In 1826, three hundred Cossack families moved there and became the founders of the stanitsa.

In 1997, in honor of the first settlers, a monument was erected near the ancient Church of St. Nicholas. On the stone pedestal stands the figure of a brave mustached Cossack in traditional clothing: a papakha, a cherkeska, and a burka draped over his shoulders. A cartridge belt with a Cossack dagger and saber is slung over his shoulder. The Cossack proudly looks at the resort city that has grown in place of the small stanitsa.