Minneopa State Park

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pedestrian bridge between Upper and Lower Minneopa Falls

Minneopa State Park is a state park on the Minnesota River west of Mankato, Minnesota.

The scenic splendor of the falls and surrounding area had made it a tourist attraction as early as 1870. A railroad depot, with a surrounding townsite, sprang up around the falls. In the late 1870s, three years of grasshopper plagues wiped out the crops, and the town disappeared. The park was created in 1905 to preserve the area around Minneopa Falls, and as such it was Minnesota's third state park. The Seppmann Windmill, in the western area of the park, was a wind-powered grist mill built by Louis Seppmann, a German immigrant. The windmill is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, several rustic style structures built by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.