Restoration | Field 2 Field

April 20, 2020April 20, 2020

Train Depot Refurbishing in Northfield, Minnesota

Train Depot exploring is something I seriously enjoy. While I do love exploring abandoned structures, it’s a lot of fun to see some of those old buildings redone for use in the present day. I went looking for an old train depot I had heard about in Northfield, Minnesota. I found it, but the “old” depot wasn’t in the shape I expected it to be in.

The building originally dates back to 1888. The depot had an addition built on to it in 1944. The depot’s south wall and roof was removed when the addition was constructed. The building was scheduled for demolition before it was moved but residents didn’t want to lose some of the community’s history. They couldn’t move the new addition because of the cement floor and cement blocks that made up the wall.

You won’t believe just how fast an older white building that was next to the depot came down. Never seen backhoes move quite so fast in my life! 🙂

Some of the bricks that made up the wall in the new addition were salvaged and are already being used to make a sidewalk path on the new site.

train depot — According to the information available at the site, I believe the pathway in the foreground was made out of some of the bricks saved from the new addition that couldn’t be moved to the new site. (Photo by Chad Smith)

A group of residents started the Save the Northfield Depot project and moved the structure last January. The old depot was literally moved from the railroad property to a site across the street. The original site has since been graded and cleaned up since then. The new site was chosen because it’s much easier to see. The previous location hid the train depot behind a much larger building.

The depot won’t just sit there and look good, either. Plans are in the works to use it as an information center for visitors. As a side note, I took a drive through the downtown area and it’s picturesque in many spots. Highly recommend a trip through there sometime. But I digress.

They’ve put in a lot of work to refurbish the old train depot in Northfield. It looks to this guy here that the work is going extremely well. Very picturesque old building that looks great! (Photo by Chad Smith)

There will also be a pavilion that residents can use to host events at, as well as an addition for a transit hub, which is a project the city of Northfield will undertake sometime in the near future. A study is in the works on a proposed passenger rail that would connect south to points beyond Minnesota. Northfield would be one of the northernmost stops on the line. The state has even kicked in some money to help fund the study.

Some of their literature I picked up at the site says they’re trying to raise $65,000 for the interior renovation. . The cost could actually be reduced with in-kind materials and labor. They’re also looking for carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and other skilled workers who wouldn’t mind volunteering a little time on the project.

The elderly couple that were outside doing some work on the grounds
when I stopped by said this was designed and built by someone in his
mid-teens? If I understood them right (hard to hear through their masks, at times), I’d say that was one uber-talented teenager! (Photo by Chad Smith)

Their website is www.northfielddepot.org. They also have a facebook page at facebook.com/northfielddepot. You’ll also find information on twitter at www.twitter.com/northfielddepot.

April 5, 2020April 5, 2020

Abandoned Jabs Farm Near Jordan, MN, Was Underwater

Abandoned places are so much fun to explore. The history, the old structures, and the stories they tell just fascinate me. I have at least three kids in my family that feel the same way I do, so we hop in the car regularly and go looking for neat places to see.

This was a solo trip for me on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. I have an app on my iPhone called AllTrails that shows me great places to hike all around the state. The Mazomani Trail between Jordan and Carver drew my attention because of something called “Jabs Farm.” Another adventurer had posted several pictures of the app that immediately caught my eye.

The Jabs Farm sits in the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, which automatically makes it a great place to visit. It’s a lovely place to hike (at your own pace), get some exercise, fresh air, and some beautiful pictures.

Hiking the Mazomani Trail looking for an abandoned farm built in the early 1900s. (Photo by Chad Smith)

The farmstead was first built between 1860-1880. In 1905, the Jabs family bought the property from the Riedel family, who initially owned the property. The Valley News says there are still members of the Jabs family living in the area today. The structures themselves are remarkable, a combination of wood and blocks of local limestone that’s produced in the area. I HAD to see this site.

The site was owned by the Jabs family for a long time. Back in 1979, the area, including the farmstead, became the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge area. The farm was first restored in 1981, and sat untouched until another restoration project in 2017. Believe it or not, the buildings were redone by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. I had no idea they did things like that, but I am sure glad they did.

Heck, they even brought in a full-fledged archaeologist to oversee the renovations.

The views up high of the wildlife area were striking and I’ve got some pictures to prove it. Walking along the bluffs was beautiful that day, with a slight breeze and temps a little over 40 degrees, but it did feel a little warmer than that. It was nice and quiet. I did run into a few people, along with the occasional rustling of the leaves on either side of the trail that likely heralded a squirrel, woodchuck, or some other member of the vermin, err, rodent family.

So after about a 20-minute hike, I came to a split in the trail. One direction would take me to the other trail head, which I had no interest in. But hey, the other one said “Jabs Farm, 1/4 mile” the other way. Well, I came around a slight bend as the trail angled downward and this is what I found.

The most remarkable thing about this? The buildings were less than a quarter mile away and were nowhere in sight. As near as I could tell, they must have been ALL underwater. Wow. That’s a lot of snowmelt in a short time, I guess.

The trees looked like they’d
make a great horror movie
setting. (Photo by Chad Smith)

As I get a little more experienced in the urban exploration game, I’m finding out that it does take some patience. Not every place you go is going to be “lit,” as the kids say. Let me offer one final example before I leave you.

I got back to the car and realized I didn’t want to head back yet. It was nice to be outdoors and I wanted to see if I could find another place to explore. Well, I pulled up the “Abandoned” app and scanned for something close by. Turns out, there was (supposed to be) and abandoned barn about 15 miles away. Well hey, I’m an old farm broadcaster/writer. Let’s take a look.

Well, needless to say, the app hadn’t been updated. I wound up in downtown Chanhassen. It happens. Hey, at least it was a nice day.

The entire video from start to finish.

July 13, 2019July 14, 2019

St. Paul and nature combine for interesting exploration

St. Paul is one of my favorite cities to explore. Another Saturday means it was time to head off to the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary. I’d spent so much time exploring Minneapolis that I thought it was time to take a closer look at the sister city. What I didn’t realize was just how CLOSE I would be to St. Paul in spite of exploring a nature area.

One of my favorite parts of the Bruce Vento Nature Conservancy in St. Paul is the fact that there is so much interaction with trains down in that neighborhood.

The first thing I saw was a signpost that pointed in different directions I could go and different things I could check out. To my surprise, I saw a sign that said I was one mile from downtown St. Paul. Well, I can’t let the chance go by to check out one of my favorite places to take pictures. I’m an architecture buff and love the way St. Paul was put together.

Walking a short way down the sidewalk, I saw a familiar sign in the distance; “CHS Field.” For those who don’t know, it’s the home of the St. Paul Saints, who play in the Northwoods Baseball League. I couldn’t believe I’d walked approximately a mile and went from a nature sanctuary to the edge of a major city like St. Paul in that short of a time frame. I’d driven by CHS Field many times while traveling between the Twin Cities and Rochester.

One of my biggest surprises of exploring a nature area was how close I still was to the city. A half mile directly behind me on the same sidewalk was the nature area. A half mile ahead stood St. Paul. I love the surprises you find when exploring the Twin Cities. (Photo by Chad Smith

I did see something I hadn’t come across before. It looked like a big lot that contained railroad tracks running in a half-circle before splitting into at least a half-dozen separate tracks that each ran into a large gray building. It reminded me of an auto shop that has several different doors along one side that each run into a separate repair station. I’m pretty sure I’d found a repair shop for trains, but I honestly don’t know that for sure.

Walking around the block past the train depot, I found myself in St. Paul proper. I really love the architecture down there. I saw one building from behind that looked like an abandoned warehouse. However, walking around the front, it was an immaculate series of shops up and down the length of the building.

The only thing I was unhappy with while walking around St. Paul was the number of people holding cardboard signs. You know what I’m talking about, right? The homeless veteran signs always break my heart. I’ve spoken to more than a few homeless veterans (and handed out a few bucks too), with those some of the most heart-breaking stories you’ll hear. However, at the other end of the spectrum, there was at least one gentlemen holding a homeless sign who was literally dressed better than I was. Who knows what to believe anymore?

If you saw my last post about exploring, it should be obvious I find urban artwork (tagging) interesting. I saw my favorite tag earlier today that said “Freddy sucks eggs.” Thanks for the tip. It makes me glad my name isn’t Freddy.

Loved the colors at the Bruce Vento Nature Conservancy in St. Paul.

This is the part of city living I DON’T like… at all.

Did I mention that was a LONG train?

This was kind of weird.

If you read this far, thank you! Here the link to my Facebook photo album:

https://www.facebook.com/chad.smith.75685/media_set?set=a.2470251693035252&type=3&uploaded=64