Then & Now: A History of Rice County, Faribault & Communities

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House of Alexander Faribault as it was when used for the Minnesota School for the Blind
(Drawing by Jeff LaRoche)
railroad's first track was built between Mendota and
Wescott, now known as Radio Center, in 1864 and from
Mendota to Minneapolis in 1865, and also between
Westcott and Faribault in 1864. The first train into
Faribault over the Minnesota Central was in
September of 1865. This road was built by Donald
Grant, a Faribault railroad contractor.
The Minnesota Central became a part of the
McGregor Western Railroad in 1867 and the McGregor
line also became a part of the Milwaukee and St. Paul
Railroad, now known as the Milwaukee Road, in 1867.
The first Milwaukee train to operate into Faribault
· was in August, 1867. Between 1905 and 1915 the
company operated three passenger trains per day in
each direction, plus one branch line trair ..;dCh way on
the Faribault-Wabasha branch line, which we will
discuss later.
Passenger Business Declines
Tom Murphy, Frank Baker, Steve Ames and Joe
Elm were the passenger train conductors which
operated trains through Faribault in the late 1920's and
1930's until mainline passenger service ended. Tom
Murphy was raised in Northfield, Frank Baker in
Waterford, Joe Elm in Dundas, and Steve Ames, not
known.
The passenger business began to decrease and the
company continued to take passenger trains out of
service. On June 30, 1952, the last passenger service
through Faribault came to an end.
The construction of a new grade between Faribault
and Cresco, Iowa was constructed in 1866 and 1867 by
Donald Grant, a Faribault railroad contractor. History
is not clear, but there are indications that the
Milwaukee started operating over the Faribault
Cresco section in late 1867 or early 1868.
The first branch line to be built in Rice County by
the Milwaukee was built in 1882 between Northfield and
Cannon Falls. This connected at Cannon Falls with a
branch which had been built a few years before, from
Red Wing to Cannon Falls. This line operated six days
a week, and the trains operated were mixed passenger
and freight, between Northfield and Red Wing. This
daily operation continued until April 1918 when the
service was reduced to three days a week: Tuesday,
Thursday and Saturday. The line was abandoned in
December of 1918.
The line between Faribault and Zumbrota was
constructed in .1903 by Donald Grant, a Faribault
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