THE FIRST PART of a three-pronged project honoring Farmer Seed & Nursery in Faribault has been completed. Recently a 20 by 24-foot mural, designed by local historian and creative Jeff Jarvis of West Cedar Studio and painted by Minneapolis artist Melodee Strong, was installed at Midwest Indoor Storage, site of the former nursery.
The artwork hangs on a corner of the building’s west side, visible to eastbound passersby along Minnesota State Highway 60/Fourth Street.
The iconic Farmer Seed and Nursery multi-level complex once rose here, an identifiable community landmark business rooted in agriculture. With nearly a 130-year history in Faribault and company roots in Chicago dating to 1888, Farmer Seed was once noted for its local seed farms, seeds, mail order seed catalog, retail store and Christmas trees. I remember paging through the company’s catalogs while growing up on a southwestern Minnesota dairy and crop farm. From vegetables to flowers to shrubs and trees, Farmer Seed offered endless options for the everyday gardener, farmer and other growers.
Today the mural and a forthcoming kiosk and memory book will continue to celebrate this long-time Faribault business. In designing the mural, Jarvis kept it simple, focusing on the signature exterior signage that graced the historic building. He added a splash of color in a clutch of sunflowers, highly recognizable, he said, and a popular agricultural symbol.
Jarvis also created conceptual sketches for the planned corner kiosk and is developing an interior graphic panel display featuring company history, little-known products and personnel information.
Additionally, this keeper of local history is compiling a Farmer Seed memory book of stories, historical information and photos. Jarvis has included his own childhood story about a coveted Ant Farm purchased at the retail store by his mother and gifted to him at Christmas. He’s looking for more stories and encourages submission of those via a form on his website at https://westcedarstudio.com/farmer-seed-nursery-memory-book/. Once the stories are compiled they will be available to read for free on Jarvis’ studio website or as a printed copy for a fee.
I expect this trio of projects will be well-received in Faribault, where the 2018 closure, then sale and eventual complete demolition of the iconic Farmer Seed complex in 2023 raised public concern. I was among those who hoped the building, on the National Register of Historic Places, could be saved, a new use found for this long-time landmark. It was not to be. But the city, including the Heritage Preservation Commission, recognized the importance of preserving memories by requiring historical remembrance projects as part of the property sale, according to Jarvis. I’m grateful for that and for parts of the building that were salvaged for historical purposes.
Today when I view the newly-installed mural, I think of my own Farmer Seed memories. Like so many others, those trace to Christmas. I loved to wander through the retail store to see all the trees decorated with ornaments. Sometimes my husband and I would buy our short needle short Christmas tree there. Not a flocked tree, which was a Farmer Seed specialty. One year we waited too long and, days before Christmas, got what I think may have been the last tree in town at a bargain price.
For many area residents, Farmer Seed holds a life-time of memories. Of seed catalogs. Of seed potatoes. Of seed packets. Of lilac bushes and Christmas trees. Of wood plank floors and a building rising high along highway 60, where an indoor storage unit and an under-construction apartment building now stand on land once rooted in agriculture.
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
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