West of Mille Lacs County is Morrison County (pop. 33,198). Its county seat, Little Falls, was the boyhood home of Charles Lindbergh.
New York to Paris in 33 hours, 1927
Lindbergh’s father was a U.S. congressman from Little Falls; the family’s home is now part of Charles A. Lindbergh Historic Site.
Built in 1906
Little Falls (pop. 8,343) is on the Mississippi River. It is one of the oldest cities in the state, and many of downtown’s early commercial buildings are still standing.
The city was established in 1848.
The Morrison County Courthouse, with its distinctive tower, was built in 1891.
In the Richardsonian Romanesque style
Little Falls also has a 1905 Carnegie Library, built of brick and stone.
In the Craftsman style
The old Northern Pacific Depot was built in 1900, designed by Cass Gilbert.
It now houses the Chamber of Commerce.
Little Falls is also home of the Minnesota Fishing Museum, established in 1998.
Thousands of fishing lures on display
A large part of Morrison County is occupied by Camp Ripley Military Reservation, a 53,000-acre training facility. The original Fort Ripley dates to 1848.
Crane Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, east of Little Falls, is a stop for many species of migrating birds.
Sandhill cranes at Crane Meadows
NEXT: CROW WING COUNTY
the depot looks dutch
Please correct me if I’m wrong, as my geo-political understanding of the more ‘civilized’ counties of MN is a little rusty. However I seem to recall folks talking about the commissioners of Morrison County making a scandalous land grab some time in the late 20th century. The result was a ‘merger’ of Morrison and Mist Counties – somewhat akin to Nazi Germany’s ‘merger’ with Poland back in the 1930’s. You might want to check it out.
Correction – the Lindbergh House is no longer part of the state park. The management switched to the Minnesota Historical Society in 1969 and it is now part of Charles A. Lindbergh Historic Site – http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/lh/
We toured the Lindbergh House several years ago. I remember they had a lot of things displayed that were owned by the families It was a worthwhile stop.
Whoops, I missed this one — just turned it up. It all is especially interesting: my childhood hero Lindbergh and the fine buildings. It was Camp Ripley that all those National Guard trucks were heading for when they slowed us on the road to Rainy Lake.