The Mill Towns State Trail is a multi-use trail in development along the Cannon River in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, United States. Currently a

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

linking

Northfield Northfield may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Northfield, Aberdeen, Scotland * Northfield, Edinburgh, Scotland * Northfield, Birmingham, England * Northfield (Kettering BC Ward), Northamptonshire, England United States * Northfield, Connec ...

and

Dundas Dundas may refer to: Places Australia * Dundas, New South Wales * Dundas, Queensland, a locality in the Somerset Region * Dundas, Tasmania * Dundas, Western Australia * Fort Dundas, a settlement in the Northern Territory 1824–1828 * Shire of ...

, the trail is planned to extend southward to Faribault and eastward to

Cannon Falls Cannon Falls is a city in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,083 at the 2010 census. Located along U.S. Route 52, southeast of the Twin Cities, Cannon Falls is the home of Pachyderm Studio, where many famous musici ...

History

The rail line was surveyed in the late 1870s between Red Wing and Waterville though construction did not begin until 1882 by the Central Railway Company of Minnesota under the management of A. B. Stickney. Stickney was head of the Minnesota & Northwestern Railroad which would later become the Chicago Great Western Railway in 1891. The route from Red Wing to Waterville was completed in 1882, and the route from Waterville to Mankato, Minnesota, was completed in 1887. By 1889, the line had been renamed Wisconsin, Minnesota & Pacific and was under the trusteeship of the Rock Island railroad. The Rock Island sold the WM&P to the Chicago Great Western in the mid-1890s which operated the line until 1968 when the CGW was merged in to the

Chicago & Northwestern The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

. The C&NW operated the line for a few years after the CGW merger, but abandoned it in the early 1970s. The

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

then took over the line from Faribault to Northfield, while the local Progressive Railroad took over the line from Northfield to Cannon Falls. The trail was built as a joint effort of the cities of Northfield and Dundas in 1998. In 2000, it became a state trail.

Extent

The trail is expected to close the

gap between the Chicago Great Western Railway sections of Faribault and

.
Mill Towns Trail Master Plan
'. MN DNR. Retrieved 2015-04-16. Once complete, the entire route from

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

to Red Wing, then south to Rochester, will be complete via the

Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail is a paved multi-use rail trail connecting Faribault, Minnesota, Faribault and Mankato, Minnesota, Mankato, Minnesota. It is maintained by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which converted it from a ...

, the Mill Towns Trail, the Cannon Valley Regional Trail, the

Goodhue Pioneer State Trail The Goodhue Pioneer State Trail is a multi-use recreational rail trail in southeastern Minnesota, USA. The of trail currently exist in two segments, separated by a gap. The northern segment is a paved trail running from Red Wing, Minnesota, ...

, and the Douglas State Trail.

References

External links

Mill Towns State Trail master plan (pdf)Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota (pdf)
* ttps://www.parksandtrails.org/friends-groups/meet-friends/mill-towns/ Friends of the Mill Towns State Trail {{Minnesota hiking trails Chicago Great Western Railway Protected areas of Rice County, Minnesota Rail trails in Minnesota Minnesota state trails 1998 establishments in Minnesota Protected areas established in 1998

History

Extent

See also

References

External links