Down Highway 169 south of the Twin Cities and a little north of Mankato is the Ghost Town of San Francisco, MN. San Francisco was first settled in 1854 and named by the founder, William Foster, after the city in California. It was reportedly the original county seat of Carver County, Minnesota, but lost that status to Chaska a year later. The town lasted about ten years from its founding and had a post office from 1856 until 1858 and again from 1861 until 1862.  It still existed as a town in 1870, as there is a U.S. federal census record for it. All that’s left of the original town is the Gehl-Mittlested Farm house and the foundations of the early barn. A gorgeous site that is now part of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge and is perched on a bluff above a wide expanse of the Minnesota River.
Artwork: In progress.
