Courtesy of NORTHFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
“Cows, colleges, and contentment” reads the scroll at the bottom of the colorful mural in Northfield’s historic post office building. We stepped into the distinctive building set along the Cannon River to check out its architecture, only to admire the mural that covers an entire wall above rows of glass-fronted post office boxes.
The vibrant painting depicts many Northfield landmarks, including the Carleton and St. Olaf college campuses, and the punchy four-word description captures the diverse appeal of this rural yet upscale community of about 21,000 people, just 45 minutes south of the Twin Cities. We recently took a day trip to Northfield to check out the scene and were charmed by the friendly residents, abundance of activities, and surprising mix of entertainment, shopping, and dining options. These are some of the highlights.
Jesse James’ Legacy
On the opposite end of the same block as the post office building sits Northfield’s even more famous structure, the Historical Society Museum and First National Bank of Northfield. On Sept. 7, 1876, Jesse James and brothers Cole, Bob, and Jim Younger were among several outlaws who tried to rob the bank. According to historians, the James-Younger gang cased the area for weeks (and considered other locations such as St. Cloud) and rode into town that day with long coats flapping to hide their guns. Only three members of the gang entered the bank at 2 p.m. that day, while others stood sentry. During the attempted robbery, head cashier Joseph Lee Heywood thwarted the robbery by refusing to open the safe and saying a new “time lock” system would not allow entry. It was a ruse. Frank James shot Heywood in the head before fleeing, killing him. The robbers left with only $26 in change in the seven-minute ordeal.
Word of the brazen act spread quickly and outside the bank on the streets of Northfield, where townspeople took justice into their own hands and started shooting at the bandits. Swedish immigrant Nicholas Gustavson died during that shootout because he didn’t understand directions in English to take cover, and gang members Cleel Miller and William Stiles also were killed. James and the rest of his gang slipped away but were tracked down weeks later and would never rob another bank. The event sent shock waves across the Midwest, with many calling Heywood and Gustavson heroes.
In 1948, Northfield’s community leaders started a fall festival to recognize the event that has since grown into Minnesota’s largest all-volunteer annual community celebration. Every September, the Defeat of Jesse James Days includes a reenactment of the bank raid, a parade, rodeo, musical performances, and many other activities. Without much previous knowledge of the raid, we spent about an hour in the museum looking at the exhibits and touring the bank and safe. We should have read the flyer handed to us when we purchased tickets for a chronology of the events before entering the rooms, because that information isn’t repeated on placards next to the displays, which made things a bit confusing. It also made us appreciate how quickly the towns-people jumped into action without social media or other alert systems to warn them what was happening. And maybe a bit about how wild the frontier was at the time with outlaws and vigilantes.
Courtesy of NORTHFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Colleges and Campuses
Beyond a famous bank heist that is nearly 150 years old, Northfield is also known for its two prestigious private colleges: Carleton College, which was founded in 1866, and St. Olaf College, started in 1874. Both attract students from around the globe, with Carleton considered one of the “Hidden Ivies” and St. Olaf named among the 10 “Best Value” national liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report in 2023. My only two other visits to Northfield were to these campuses, about seven years ago to tour Carleton with my then-high school daughter looking at schools and more than 30 years earlier to visit a friend who was studying at St. Olaf. The colleges both add culture and amenities to the area, which explains part of the charm.
We decided to explore Carleton’s free Cowling Arboretum and its paved trails that afternoon. The “Arb” encompasses 800 acres of land adjacent to the Carleton campus and we enjoyed nearly perfect breezy weather as we walked past a family fishing, a few people walking their dogs, and students studying on the grass slopes. Buzzing bees were busy in the mass of wildflowers. We continued our circular walking route past dorms with hundreds of bikes hanging vertically on the walls, up to Carleton’s hidden Japanese garden, and past the iconic Goodsell Observatory. Carleton’s advantage may be its proximity to Northfield’s main shopping and dining district along the Cannon River as St. Olaf’s expansive grounds are a few miles west from the city center. St. Olaf’s manicured lawns and stately halls are equally beautiful, but we only toured by driving the campus, not hiking.
Courtesy of Northfield Chamber of Commerce
Dining, Shopping, and Entertainment
Division Street is the main drag in downtown Northfield, where we spent most of our time shopping and eating. We started with a hearty breakfast at the compact Cottage Tearoom and Fare with daily quiche specials and cold press coffee, and later grabbed some dinner at the expansive Reunion. After breakfast, we strolled the riverwalk to watch the water spilling over the falls and a team of volunteers weeding along the riverbank. There are weekly concerts along the square and other art festivals and holiday markets here as well.
Most shops don’t open until 10 a.m., so we did some window shopping among the sightseeing. We were surprised at how much the area came alive about 11:30 a.m., when it seemed like a busload of day-trippers arrived. We shopped our favorite outdoor brands like Columbia and Birkenstock at The Rare Pair, before browsing local artisan goods including candles and quirky home goods at Petalina Mercantile. We stopped by the Northfield Arts Guild to check out the local exhibit on the second floor of the building before shopping for jewelry and artwork on the first floor. Several businesses were participating in Northfield’s Find Waldo Local incentive program, which encourages shoppers to stop by and get a stamp in a passport after they find the cartoon character cutout hidden somewhere in the shop. We kept running into the same mom and 10-year-old daughter at different stores, and I was amazed at how quickly the girl could spot Waldo. Beyond the clothing boutiques and one day spa, we made sure to swing by the three different bike shops, two antique stores, abundant garden center, and a few art galleries, all along Division Street and easily walkable.
Photo by Amy Nelson
At the end of our day, we thought back to the “cows, colleges, and contentment” scroll and realized we only saw cows in the fields on our drive back to the Twin Cities—but we did enjoy exploring the colleges and found plenty of contentment the rest of our adventure.
