Historic Bluff Country

National Scenic Byway

Minnesota #16

 

 

  

Along the Byway

Dexter

Identity: "A Town on the Prairie"

Attractions: Fertile Prairies

                       Prairie Grasses

History: Native Americans lived off the fertile hunting grounds; fur traders obtained furs for the latest fashions

                                  Celebration: Sunflower Daze (June)

 

Western Gateway to the Byway
 

Grand Meadow

Identity: "Unique Architecture"

Attractions: "Jewel Box Building"

                        (Exchange State Bank)

                        "School of the Future"

                        (Monolithic Dome School)

History: Minnesota architects William Gray Purcell and George Grant Elmslie designed the small bank building in 1910 in the Prairie School style - landmark of early 20th-century progressive design.

 

Spring Valley

Identity: "The Town That Agriculture Built"

Attractions: Handsome Brick Buildings

                       Stained Glass Windows

                       (Methodist Episcopal Church)

                       Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway

History: Childhood home of Richard Sears, founder of Sears and Roebuck and  Laura Ingalls Wilder attended the Methodist Episcopal Church here.    

                          Celebration: Wilder Fest - (August)

 
 

Preston

Identity: "Down on the Farm"

Attractions: Rural Architecture

                       Allis Barn

                       (National Register HistoricPlaces)

                                                   1890 Grain Elevator

                                                   Trout Fishing

History: Countryside dotted with remnants of the region's rural heritage. Massive barns, simple outbuildings, tall silos, modest

frame and brick houses.   

Celebration: Preston Trout Days - (3rd Weekend in May)

                        Fillmore County Fair - (July)

                        September Fest - (Last Saturday in September)

               

 

  More Cities Along the Byway

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