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.