Mill Ruins Park, Minnesota

Mill Ruins Park is at the historic heart of Minneapolis. It is a collection of partially rebuilt ruins of mills and constructed waterways, from the 19th century, which made this the flour milling capital for the vast wheat fields of the Upper Midwest. Located at a natural waterfall, St. Anthony’s Falls, the waterworks here were first developed to operate saw mills, processing lumber cut from the virgin timberlands of the Midwest, and floated down the river. As trees were cleared away, grain was planted in the fields, transitioning the regional economy to agriculture and food processing.