The dust has finally settled on the former Farmer Seed and Nursery building in Faribault

FARIBAULT, Minn. (KEYC) - The Farmer Seed and Nursery building in Faribault shared 129 years with the area. Hidden under brick and mortar, lay memories of the city.

“It’s sad. It was a real landmark. And to drive into town the sky is empty. Things move and there ain’t much you can do about it,” said longtime Faribault resident, Leroy Rockman.

Even with the building gone, the memories remain.

“My wife always went there during Christmas time to see if she could find an ornament for her Christmas trees, and a matter of fact, right now I’m looking at one that came from there,” said Rockman.

Remnants now stay at the Rice County Historical Society, and many stories can be learned from the area’s citizens.

“Then this here, Brian knows more about this,” said volunteer, Marie Tuma, “They found these. When they were going to destroy the building. The employees who had been in the restrooms. And they had written their names on there. This is a Nelson. What year does it say? 1946.”

Curator David Nichols said new Farmer Seed memories can be made, despite the building’s destruction.

“It’s something that we can all talk about and it becomes a part of our collective group history, and knowledge and culture, and I think that’s why something like that is extremely important and shouldn’t be necessarily left to just be forgotten. That’s why we do our best to talk about all those sorts of businesses down here,” said Nichols.

An apartment building and storage unit facility with the Farmer Seed logo will be constructed in the building’s old location, and on the corner: a memorial kiosk.

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