High bluffs circle this town, the closest things to mountains you’ll find in southern Minnesota. The Root River flows through it, fed by...

You are looking at the Root River. (Actually, the South Branch of the Root...) Native Americans no doubt traveled on it and fished in it...

The story of Lanesboro begins with the story of a railroad. Without trains the town we know wouldn’t exist. A century later, without a...

If you were standing here 150 years ago and looked back towards the center of town, you’d see an impressive four-story building called...

If you were standing here 150 years ago and looked back towards the center of town, you’d see an impressive four-story building called... (read more)

Cities have famous dates. Chicago: October 8, 1871. The Great Fire. San Francisco: April 18, 1906. The Great Earthquake. Lanesboro has...

White settlers first entered the Root River region in the 1850s before Minnesota was a state. A decade later the railroad arrived in Lanesboro,...

This strategically-placed building has been welcoming people to Lanesboro since 1872. Built by businessman-banker Michael...

Lanesboro is a small town that takes big pride in the men and women from here who have served our country in the armed forces. This historic...

This building dates to 1877 and is one of Lanesboro’s oldest. It’s probably been more things and served more people in more ways than any other...

By the 1970s, quiet, little Lanesboro had grown even quieter. Few trains came through here, even fewer stopped. A farm crisis slowed the...

When William (Buffalo Bill) Cody first walked the wooden-plank sidewalks of Lanesboro in the late 1870s, he and this little town had two things in common...

Lanesboro’s earliest economy relied on wheat processed in mills powered by the new dam on the Root River. A decade later depleted soil prompted...

This solid brick building has been a centerpiece of downtown Lanesboro for more than 150 years. Built in 1875 by Michael Scanlan, son of the Irish immigrant...

This impressive limestone-block building—now the Stone Mill Hotel & Suites—brought together two driving forces in Lanesboro’s early history...

This tidy little building in the middle of Lanesboro north of Sylvan Park is the Sons of Norway Lodge. It looks quiet, but it’s been a very busy place for a very long...

“The High Court” building has been a lively place since 1876 with a history of colorful characters. The only three-story structure in downtown Lanesboro...

Lanesboro was planned with five sections: Downtown, Church Hill, Little Norway, The Flat, and this neighborhood, Brooklyn. Why the name “Brooklyn?”...

This solid brick building has been a centerpiece of downtown Lanesboro for more than 150 years. Built in 1875 by Michael Scanlan, son of the Irish immigrant...

Robert R. Greer was 26 years old when he moved from Quebec, Canada, to Lanesboro in the 1860s. He started one of the first businesses in town...

This building was once known as “The Corner Store.” (The Talking Trail story at the bank next door will tell you why). It’s been home to a number of...

“Sylvan” is a Latin word that means “woods.” That fits well here. Early Lanesboro planners had New England backgrounds and were used to having parks or...

The north end of Parkway Avenue has been home to many businesses over the years. Restaurants like the White Front Café and Intermission...

In New York, its Broadway. In Chicago, The Loop. In Minneapolis, Hennepin Avenue. Lanesboro has a theater district, too. It is smaller, for sure, but...

In Lanesboro’s early days this was an empty corner lot used as a small park before a building went up in 1880. Today what’s here is an ordinary-looking bank...

What looks like (and actually is) an old-time grain elevator in north Lanesboro of Parkway has become a place for people to gather with friends, listen to live...

This handsome two-story stone building at 111 Coffee Street, with its stately bell tower, was built in 1886. A few of the hand-cut limestone blocks in its...

Look up to find the name of the man who built this building in 1895 and who played an important role in building this whole town...

This historic grain elevator (with the now-faded name of “Lanesboro Grain Co. Grain-Feeds-Seeds” on its side) has stood tall at the north end of Parkway...

This shop has been making and selling fine jewelry and other unique art pieces here since 1991. A look into its history reveals that creating art has been deep...