AT THE INTERSECTION of busy State Highway 60 and 8th Avenue Northwest just blocks from downtown Faribault, motorists zoom past a corner kiosk marking the location of a once historic landmark business in this southern Minnesota city.
On this spot along the highway, Farmer Seed & Nursery stood next to the railroad tracks, an icon of agriculture rooted initially in selling seeds to farmers. But, through the decades, the company grew into much more, supplying nursery stock, plants, seeds and such to the public, the everyday gardener via seed catalogs and a retail store.
During the holiday season, the business flocked trees, making them a local signature Christmas offering.
Today the history of this long-standing Faribault entity is summarized on two informational panels recently installed in a corner kiosk next to Midwest Flats, a new 55-unit apartment building, and Midwest Indoor Storage, both occupying the former Farmer Seed site.
The informational panels are displayed inside an airy wood-frame structure partially-constructed with beams salvaged from the Farmer Seed building. After the business closed in 2018 and before it was demolished in 2023, volunteers and staff from the Rice County Historical Society saved artifacts from the building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Today those items, like signs, seed packets, catalogs and advertisements, are showcased in a small exhibit inside Heritage Hall at the historical society. Information and select artifacts from that collection were incorporated into the kiosk signage, RCHS Executive Director Dave Nichols said. He welcomes visitors to tour the museum display with 24 hours advance notice given. Local artist and historian Jeff Jarvis provided the initial sketches for the overall kiosk design.
Back along the highway, anyone can stop anytime to read a summary of Farmer Seed’s history, which began with its founding in 1888 in Chicago. By 1893, the thriving business had moved west to Faribault. Farmer Seed quickly became nationally-known. Six years after its relocation here, Farmer Seed moved across the street into a large stone warehouse once occupied by Faribault Threshing Company.
For Faribault residents, Farmer Seed represents more than an iconic business with a 125-year history here. It represents memories. Buying seeds, bulbs and other gardening merchandise. For some, packing seeds inside the sprawling multi-floor complex. For others, wandering among beautifully-decorated Christmas trees in the retail shop and choosing an ornament to buy each year. For some families, purchasing a flocked tree.
Local historian Jarvis is collecting those stories for a Farmer Seed memory book. Community members can submit their stories via a submissions form found on Jarvis’ West Cedar Studio website, https://westcedarstudio.com/farmer-seed-nursery-memory-book/. The book will include photos and additional information along with those personal stories.
The memory book will complete a three-phase endeavor to preserve Farmer Seed’s history. The Faribault Heritage Preservation Commission early on recognized the need to document Farmer Seed’s history by requiring the new property owner to complete several historical remembrance projects. The first came in a 20×24-foot mural designed by Jarvis and painted by Melodee Strong of Minneapolis. Installed in 2025, it hangs on the west exterior side of the indoor storage unit building.
The kiosk completion marks the second phase of the HPC directive.
While the massive Farmer Seed building could not be saved from demolition, its legacy in the Faribault community endures. The mural, the informational kiosk and the memory book are fitting historic tributes to a company that once stood strong, next to the train tracks along Minnesota State Highway 60, as a cherished local landmark business.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
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