Old Church (?) or Schoolhouse (?) Scandia, MN

In mid-September this year we had intended to be staying in a cabin for the weekend at William O'Brien State Park along the St. Croix River. We'd made reservations about a month prior and so we packed up the car with everything but a tent. When we arrived we were told that we were in campsite #14 instead of a cabin! So our plans were completely thrown upside-down. So we decided to hike all day in the park and just head home at the end of the day. On the way back, I spotted a "native landscape" type of nursery that I wanted to visit and so we pulled off the road into the town of Scandia. I've driven past/through this town many times but had never stopped to see the original part of town. It was small as expected, with the essential small-town post office nestled between other business on the main street. But there was a building across from the post office that caught our attention immediately. A very large wooden building painted a drab green with rusty brown trim. At first glance, the structure looked like a pair of simple, one-and-a-half story houses from the turn of the century that had crashed into each other. But from the back half rose a square type of "bell-tower" structure at one end. This part was sided in wood like the rest and at the top supported a pedestal with more vertical bracing that looked like it could have held either a cross or maybe a bell. I instantly thought of the building as an old abandoned Church, but I couldn't rule out a schoolhouse either. If it had been either in a previous life, it appeared that the way the building faced –assuming the tower would be in front– was no longer in line with the rest of the town. With the tower portion being towards the back left it faced an adjacent house only 50 feet away. The other thing that made me feel this building had been re-purposed at least once was that it had two large garage doors nearest the main street. I couldn't tell for sure but I think they were the type that slid horizontally left and right along a rail. Above these two doors was a smaller "loft" door or window hinged with old metal brackets. But above that door were signs of an even older loft door much higher up near the peak of the roof that was sided over to match the rest of the building. Curiously there was a little hand-painted sign that read "Hilltop Water Co." hung smack dab between the two loft doors. Something I noticed later while viewing my photos was that to the right of the current loft door was a rectangular area where it was apparent that another sign may have hung for many years. That small area –less faded and chipped– hinted to the deeper green coloring the building may have appeared years ago. Due to fencing, I could really only walk around 2 sides of the building but it was in a beautiful state of disrepair, with siding and shingles literally falling off near the edges. It was raining at the time and I wondered how well the roof was still keeping out water. Admittedly, I don't do a lot of research on any of the buildings I post here on my blog and same goes for this one. I simply like how they look in their current form –with so much history peeling away in front of your very eyes. The mystery of that unknown history is part of the appeal for me and thus I don't necessarily go out of my way to track it down for myself. But if blog viewers care to comment and share what they know about the place, I certainly don't mind. In fact I enjoy that very much.

Old Brick Houses North Minneapolis - Jan 2006

I'd driven past these two old brick houses in North Minneapolis at least 50 times, all the while thinking I really should take a photo of them. They were the kind of narrow, tall and simple box-shaped houses that you just don't see anymore -at least not in Minneapolis. The pair of homes -only just feet apart from one another both appeared to have built around the same time, of the same yellowed brick and having very similar construction -especially those old, tall windows with the arched top -something you'd be hard pressed to find nowadays even if you were looking for it. These houses resided on 2nd St. North right near the intersection of 2nd & Lowry, leading up to the old Lowry Avenue Bridge. In fact if you click on the photos to enlarge them you may be able to see the green metal top of the old Lowry Avenue Bridge. Whenever my wife and I would pass these houses our conversation would turn to wondering if anybody -or who- lived in those houses. At the time it DID look like at least one of them was occupied even though many of the windows were already boarded up. I don't remember which one we thought might have been occupied but I'm thinking it was the one on the right -with slightly less windows boarded up. The age of the houses was obvious in a lot of ways -from the weathered and cracked brickwork to the deteriorating and surely leaking roofs but mostly to the added electrical utilities that didn't seem to be part of the home's original plans. In January of 2006 we began to notice some activity around the houses including an orange construction fence in front. I figured I'd better stop and catch at least one photo of these houses so on a cold January day in 2006 we did just that. It was clear the homes were about to be demolished and it was sort of a neat feeling that we may well be the last people to be admiring them, daydreaming of the history that happened inside and outside of them. Both houses had been added onto at the rear, almost doubling the depth of each, making me wonder if they had been used for another purpose other than a simple family home. During our stop I finally capture the address of one of the two houses still above the front door -3210. Shortly after I looked up this address on the Hennepin County Property Tax web site and was not too surprised to see the last sale-price was for an astounding low rate. I don't remember exactly but I think it was somewhere shy of $10,000. Unfortunately I didn't keep those records. In fact, at the time of shooting these photos I didn't even have the faintest thought of what I would do with the photos -much less creating a blog someday. I don't remember but it wasn't very long after we stopped that both houses were totally gone - a testament to why it's almost always worth stopping to admire and/or photograph an old structure before it is gone. If you do a google map search on the address today you will see there is just an empty field. https://maps.google.com

The Castle - Ely, MN

My apologies for such a long interval between updates. I'm finding it hard to regularly update 2 blogs -though this one gets many more views and comments! I have a stockpile of stuff to add, so if you can stand the wait please check back periodically. This post shows some photos of one of the most interesting buildings I've seen in the past few years. On a trip to Ely, Minnesota last fall we couldn't help but run into this massive, castle-looking building at on the corner of Camp St. and 2nd Avenue. The 4 & 1/2 story turret is hard to miss as you're driving up the hillside just 1 or 2 blocks of the main street. The yellowed and ornate brickwork immediately tell you something of it's age but it's impressive architecture is not like anything you typically see in Minnesota. This place is truly a "castle" with multiple dormers and bay windows making up complex shapes especially along it's roof line. Though there must have been nearly 30 windows on the one side, we couldn't see one that was not broken out or boarded up. As I took pictures in awe, I noticed the roof seemed in fairly decent shape and likely redone recently. Also some of the protruding window sections and also the top level of the turret had been resurfaced in a "stucco" like method. There were for-sale signs on the long side -and even they were busted up, telling me that the place has likely been for sale for a long time already. Upon driving around to the back side, we could see a bit more restoration had been started, including white paint over the yellow bricks. Upon returning home and looking the place up online, I found it had been built in 1903 to serve as a Hospital. I would have loved to walk around inside and/or seen pictures of what it used to look like inside. The building is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and it is easy to see why even without knowing much more about it. If you'd like to own it, just visit this website! http://www.elywildwoods.com/component/hotproperty/?view=property&id=222

A Short Drive North of the Cities

I few years ago, something struck us as we were headed either to, or from a weekend kayaking excursion. Despite the fact that we live in one of the most populated areas of the state, if you get onto the right road in the right direction, it is amazing sometimes how fast you can find yourself out in the country. This Sunday evening we were feeling a bit adventurous, not wanting the weekend to end -and likely in need of a vacation. On a total whim we decided to drive north on Central Avenue (Hwy 65) just to see where we ended up and what we might see along the way. After going through Ham Lake and East Bethel, the city gradually thinned out and we soon found ourselves somewhere around Isanti. A brown sign for a county park caught our attention so we headed west towards the town of Oak Grove. At this point we realized from a map that we were surrounded by small towns in almost every direction. We decided on a destination of the town of "Oxlip" probably just because of it's odd name, and headed further west past Hwy 47 (or University Ave in the city). We found Oxlip to consist of pretty much just a few houses and a very large Evangelical Church. Just a 1/2 mile or so east was a nice old abandoned house. Unfortunately many old houses like this often sit on property located right next to a newer, occupied house, making me leery of stopping for a photo. This was not all the case, with no other houses for miles and I had a chance to walk around the property for just a bit. On the other side, you could see where the original frame was added on to. There was curious looking, angled entry way that jutted out even further from the addition. This side actually had a fair amount of white paint still clinging to the wooden siding, another hint at the history of the house. There was one more smaller building on the property, a sort of shed with a rusted metal roof but surprisingly intact glass windows. In hind sight I really wish I would have peeked inside there before leaving. We then set our sights on the next closest small town -Bradford. There were actually a few businesses here, including a newly renovated bar and restaurant called "Ravens" that called to us for a quick beer. Before heading back, we stopped at another abandoned house on the west side of Hwy 47 just south of the bar. This was a much larger house than the other, built in an "L" shape, with at least one dormer window and an added front porch. There were also two chimneys, one of which had almost completely crumbled away. The yard here was so overgrown that I couldn't even get that that close. A grapevine had attacked an devoured almost the entire front porch. At the back of the house was a porch that seemed to be part of the original construction -especially obvious by the layers of different colored shingles showing. There were a few barrels, a grill and even a mailbox tucked away behind the porch. Though much larger, I'd guess that this house was older than the other, simply by it's state of disrepair. Though the backside showed some paint the front side was mostly gray, weathered wood. I sure like this house and I wonder about who lived there.

Various Abandoned Farmsteads

The main content in this post was contributed from a viewer and fellow abandoned enthusiast. All are abandoned farmsteads within the southeastern corner of Minnesota -one of the best areas to encounter such sights. I've added a few comments of my own to some of the photos in addition to the descriptions "in quotes" provided to me by the photographer. "This was an abandoned farm stead near Lanesboro, MN. It is close to the Root River and Trout Run and looks to be a victim of frequent flooding. The house is deteriorating quickly along with the barn and several farm implements on the property." These pics brought back memories of a couple of trips to far southern Minnesota where I visited the towns of Lanesboro, Preston, Harmony, Canton and more. In fact, I have a lot of good photos from that area that I will likely use for future post. This next one I think is so picturesque and really captures the essence of a prairie home. What a fantastic old tree! "This was a small home near Zumbrota, MN. The tree in front was lovely. The home sits lonely by itself, with the grass neatly trimmed, windows boarded up." The following farm house looks quite old. Houses like this with absolutely no trace of paint on the outside are among my favorite kind to come across. To me it appears that the severely sagging portion was added later to the original structure. "This house was found near Grand Meadow, MN. Obviously abandoned for many years, it sits close to several large farms and a wind farm." Lastly, this cool photo was also taken near Grand Meadow. I couldn't decide between the two photos that were sent to me. One was further away and really showed how out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere it is. I decided to post the other however because the contrast of the modern day windmills behind it was so striking. "This old well sat by itself in the middle of a bean field outside of Grand Meadow. At one time there must've been a house there, but is since long gone. This is all that remains." Thanks very much to Derik (derik.gustafson@gmail.com) for the wonderful photos and text! I'm now inspired again to go through some of my previous southern MN pics and see what I can find for the Blog.

Bechyn, Minnesota

During a visit to Redwood Falls, MN way back in 2006, my better half pointed to a (really) small dot on the map and said "we should go here." We've both always been fascinated by small or old towns, but I would say this was our first successful venture off the beaten path with the sole intention of visiting one. I look back on this later and consider Bechyn to be the town that officially kicked off tons of other journeys -and hundreds of extra miles for us- every time we're on vacation. The closer we got to Bechyn, the more remote it seemed. After driving on mostly unmarked gravel roads for a ways, we finally saw a clue that we were getting closer. This sign near a 4-way intersection might just as well have read "MIDDLE OF NOWHERE." Honestly, neither of us could imagine a town being anywhere out here, where all you could see in every direction was more cornfields. After following the sign, the strangest thing happened to the road; it became paved! We both thought this was hilarious and it was obvious that we'd reached our destination. This town was literally surrounded by tall cornfields on all four sides, making it almost hidden from passersby only a mile away. The town itself was not abandoned in any way. In fact there were people milling about -especially near a big old church labeled St. Mary's. Right away though we spotted some old and abandoned buildings. This 2 story, paint-less structure had every indication of an old general store or some sort of business. Like other buildings, it showed signs of newer renovation by way of two overhead garage doors installed right into it's side. Across the street was another old building with that familiar tall, flat-front of an old business. This building though actually appeared to have been converted into a private residence indicated by curtains and knick-knacks in the windows. We were both amazed that a little tiny town (if you could even call it that) like this could exist out here among miles of cornfields. It was pretty apparent that the church was really the center of town and probably responsible for keeping the town alive. There were people living in the town but it couldn't have been more than about 10. We never did see any sort of population sign so who knows. Only recently I learned from the internet that the town of Bechyn has a rich Czechoslovakian heritage and is named after Bechyne in Czechoslovakia. Every August the town hosts an annual "Czechfest" celebration which brings in a lot of visitors. http://www.czechfest.com/

1864 Seppman Windmill near Mankato, MN

With the recent moves towards "greener" energy in the last decade, one might think wind power is a relatively new concept for Minnesota. You'd be amazed though (as I was) to learn that a windmill constructed from 1862 to 1864 still stands in Minnesota! This hidden gem of Minnesota history is actually part of Minneopa State Park located 5 miles west of Mankato. We had no idea it was there until we visited the park in May of 2009 and ended up spending quite a bit of time there reading and learning why it is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. The mill is a Gristmill which at one time ground grain into flour by way of four gigantic wooden arm and sails- that measured about 70 feet in diameter. It was built by Louis Seppman, a German immigrant who modeled the mill after those in his native country. Though successful at first, the windmill seemed destined for ruin as it was damaged again and again by weather. In 1873 two of it's wooden arms were struck by lightning and needed to be replaced. In 1880 two more arms were carried away in a tornado. The mill limped along for 10 more years using only 2 arms until yet another storm in 1890 broke those off as well. There were very good historical markers on the site which told this whole story and more. According to the markers, extensive structural damage, together with competition from water and steam powered mills and the invention of the "roller process" made this windmill unprofitable to operate. I never produced flour again and closed in 1890. It was quite amazing to see this massive stone structure still standing nearly 120 years later. Also on the grounds, down the hillside was a Granary building that was almost completely rebuilt during renovation in the 1970's. If you have the chance to visit, Minneopa State Park is one of the best State Parks I've been to, and the Seppman Mill is icing on the cake. Here is a good article I ran across regarding this long abandoned stone windmill http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteer/sepoct08/ghost_towns.html

Abandoned Schoolhouse 1911 Louisburg, MN

OK, so I almost abandoned this blog itself -but a couple of new followers have inspired me to get my butt back in gear. I have a whole slew of new photos and locations taken this year that I'll try to publish soon. This post features one of the best abandoned building's I've come across to date, due equally to it's size and remote location. In April of this year we took a trip to Ortonville, Minnesota. It was fun to head straight west for a change and we saw some great sights along the way but we were totally unaware of the multitude of small (small) towns in this area. I swear we put on an extra 100 miles exploring flooded back-country roads and we didn't even get to some of the towns on the map. At some point we found ourselves in a town called Louisburg which boasted a population of 26 at the 2000 Census. This town is literally surrounded in all directions by miles and miles of farm fields. Upon entering the town on County Rd. 67 we were awestruck with this massive square, red brick Public School with tall windows and bell tower. We stopped right in our tracks to get out and take pics of this place. Despite many of it's windows being broken or boarded up, the brickwork itself was in great shape. The roof though tattered was still very much intact with even some ornamental woodwork at the peaks. As we walked along the also abandoned playground we could hear the inside full of cooing Pigeons -adding to the haunted feel of the place. Among the birds we heard unfamiliar, unrecognizable sounds that really freaked us out. At the front of the building was a cement portion with a date of 1911 which looked surprisingly new compared to the crumbling front steps. I got the idea that maybe the building had been maintained and well cared for sometime into the 1960's before finally being abandoned. That's just my guess so I'd love to hear from anyone familiar with this place!

Berning's Mill St. Michael, MN

On a warm day in July 2009, we threw the kayaks in the back of the truck and drove up to the Crow River just northwest of Minneapolis. We had no idea the trouble we'd have in finding a place to put in. During our almost hour long search for easy river access, we came upon a neat little place called the Millside Tavern. Directly behind it's parking lot, we noticed an even cooler abandoned mill of some kind. But our quest today was kayaking and only after a successfull paddle up and down the Crow did we decide to come back to this spot. After scarfing down burgers 'n beer at the tavern, we cautiously explored the seemingly private area as it was just too enticing to pass up. The structure was intriguing with original red painted wood, corrugated metal additions and elevated structures supported by either wooden post or concrete barrel supports. Rusty remnants of original machinery poked out of the building here and there and many of the glass window panes had long been broken out. Towards the very back side, two towering grain bins seemed still ready for business. The whole area was just overtaken by green trees and brush, giving you the feeling that the place was shut down like a switch decades ago and forgotten ever since. As we walked around the footings, peering upwards at the broken windows, we both thought we heard noises coming from within and wondered if squatters were living inside. Though we were only steps from a populated restaurant, we actually felt spooked by this beautifuly abandoned place. After an extensive online search, I've come across two other references about Berning's Mill that are definitely worth a look. The first is a Picasa Web Album from Tundra Star Photography's photo gallery containing some of the most beautiful photos of early midwest farm and industry that I've ever seen. http://picasaweb.google.com/tundrastarphotography/RoundBarnsMillsAndBridgesOfMinnesota# The second is a painting by artist Michele Pope Melina, depicting this local icon of St. Michael as it may have once appeared. http://www.michelemelina.com/images/riversidememories.jpg

Historic 1880 Jabs Farmstead

The Jabs Farm is one of the coolest -and most abandoned- places we came across in 2009. This place definitely fit the bill as we stumbled upon it purely by chance while on an April hike around Louisville Swamp. The Louisville Swamp area itself is just a small part of a much larger area known as the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge and is located between the cities of Carver and Jordan, Minnesota. Not only was the farm not even mentioned on the DNR info center in the parking lot, it was also remote as heck, being about a 5 to 6 mile hike just to get there. After traversing some backwaters of the Minnesota River known as Sand Creek by way of a piled rock crossing, you come up a hillside to the original farmhouse. Surprisingly, there were historical markers to read about the homestead and you could even walk inside the house. Inside was a barrel stove surrounded by a few rustic benches. From the outside, it looked like it had been repaired to some extent, probably even having it's original wooden shingles replaced in the last 10 years or so. Even more intriguing than the house, were two quite large structures, the larger of which was missing it's entire main roof as well as large sections of wall from additions that appeared to have been added later. The third and furthest building was in the best condition, probably having been refurbished the most. It was locked down and even had iron grates over the windows. The historical markers themselves were somewhat vague and rustic. The one thing I do remember reading is that the farm remained in the Jabs family up until the 1950's before being donated to the state -or something to that effect. I'd really like to visit this place next year to learn more about it.

Ramsey Mill Ruins Hastings, MN

We discovered this place on a winter trip to Hastings in March of 2008. Really purely by accident as we had no idea it even existed when we decided to hike along the Vermillion River. There were one or two signs with some good historical info as well as older photos of this huge old flour mill. After learning just how old it was -built in 1856 and destroyed in 1894- we were instantly fascinated and trucked down the snowy hillside. It's most unique aspect was immediately evident upon our first glance of the structure. It's remnants are purely massive, towering pillars completely free-standing from one another save for maybe 3 or 4 places where the quarried limestone still clung to horizontal timbers. These short spans gave the only indication of the original structure's appearance with evenly spaced windows at each level. It was as if all the window openings on all four sides collapsed straight downwards from the top, leaving gaping slices in each wall. The effect resembles ancient ruins of Rome or Egypt and is pretty awe inspiring. We were both scared to even touch the remaining walls for fear they might topple down. On one outer wall I noticed the remainder of a steel rod that was likely used as a stabilizer between opposite walls. Funny that even without this, the remaining pillars, except for what must have been the front of the building, are all still standing. They realy must have built things good in those days.

1894 Rock Island Swing Bridge

Though my fascination with abandoned things began long before, I wanted to post some photos of a place that most recently renewed my interest in a big way. In spring of 2007, based on a tip from a coworker, we decided to go take a peek at this old bridge over the Mississippi in Inver Grove Heights. Though not particularly "mysterious" like abandoned buildings can be, this bridge and it's connected railroad line were there very definition of "abandoned." You could literally feel both history and time here spelled out plain as day in the rusted steel, wheathered wood and overgrown tracks. In addition, there were so many other interesting things about this bridge than just it's age. In it's rich history the bridge carried the Rock Island Railroad on top, cars underneath, had a swing-span that opened to let barges through, was crossed by John Dillinger after a gun battle, was a toll bridge, then a free bridge, then a toll bridge again owned by a private citizen. If you're lucky enough not stumble upon a place like this on your own, and/or be the only persons there at the time, it definitely helps lend to the overall feeling of wonderment about the place. Such was the case on this day in April and it is truly one of the best abandoned places I'll remember. Having made such a memorable impression on me, it's very fitting that this place has since been in the news ever since with stories of its impending fate. Just this spring, most of the structure was demolished, including the entire swing span as well as the eastern and western side entrances thus making it impossible to access what remains of the bridge out in the middle of the river. This certainly adds fuel to whatever motivation I already have for stopping and exploring abandoned places. It sounds like a dorky reason to pull over on the highway or drive out of your way but you never know if that place will still be there the next time you drive by. Read more about this unique -and now gone- bridge at http://www.johnweeks.org/bridges/pages/ms02.html.

Abandoned MN launch - Happy Halloween!

Seems pretty fitting that I launch my new Blog "Abandoned MN" on Halloween night. I'll explain the purpose of this blog more later but for now here is a taste of what is to come. This is about the coolest abandoned church I've ever seen. It sits in a clearly overgrown field just north of Duluth MN along Hwy 61 and has an eerie sense about it with it's odd red colored siding and cross-less steeple built to the right side of the structure. In the back is a still intact outhouse complete with toilet seat and lid. If not for the imposing front doors with crosses for windows, one could easily mistake the place for a modest north-shore home.