Creepy Abandoned Places Within 90 Minutes of Rochester You Probably Didn’t Know About
Around Minnesota, there are all sorts of abandoned places. There are abandoned buildings and entire towns that are abandoned. And three of those abandoned buildings are within 90 minutes of Rochester, Minnesota.
I learned about these abandoned buildings thanks to Only in Your State, who put together a road trip of abandoned places around the entire state. We're just going to look at the ones that are close to Rochester.
Abandoned Store - Northfield, MN
The first place is an abandoned store in Northfield. Only In Your State says that this store may have been a barbershop at one point and an antique store. And based on the photo below, it appears the store next door used to be a gas station and store. I'm not sure if they were both owned by the same person but it's possible.
You can still go visit the site where this building was but unfortunately, it was torn down recently, so we'll have to make do with photos. The photo above is from Google Maps in April 2016. The second photo is also from Google Maps but in June 2019.
The site is located at the corner of I-35 and MN-19 as you're heading towards Northfield.
UMore Park - Rosemount, MN
UMore Park is a part of the University of Minnesota, but there's also an abandoned part of UMore Park.
Only in Your State says that the abandoned area "is an abandoned factory that once produced gunpowder in the 1940s." The factory was called Gopher Ordnance Works. You can see some of the abandoned parts through the trees from the road.
Mill Ruins Park - Minneapolis, MN
You can take a tour and walk around the remains of many flour mills that used to be in Minneapolis. Only In Your State says that when you visit you'll learn about the early history of Minnesota and how we because known for our flour industry.
Part of the ruins can even be used for special events, like a wedding. I've visited Mills Ruins Park and it is a cool place to take a tour.