Again, I am drawing on photos that were taken during our recent grave decorating trip to southern Minnesota – the Mankato, Janesville, Waseca and Kasota area. The pictures in this post are from the Kasota area.
A little background on Kasota
Kasota is a city of about 675 people within Kasota Township. The city is located halfway between the cities of Mankato and St. Peter on the eastern side of the Minnesota River. It is also about two miles north of the Kasota Prairie, a DNR scientific and natural area.
Kasota was platted in 1855, three years before Judson. (See earlier blog on Judson – https://carolynlbraun.com/2019/06/11/a-drive-in-judson-mn/ ). “Kasota” is a Dakota word for “cleared off.”
In 1880. C. W. Babcock bough the stone business from his father. He partnered with Tyrell Swan Willcox, an immigrant from England, and they produced polished stone for interior and exterior residential use and – due to expansion of the railroads – stone for trestles and culverts. They were also the first company to quarry limestone in around around the city of Kasota. The Babcock Company went bankrupt in 1980. It then became the Vetter Stone Company.
Kasota stone is the primary stone used in the building of the National Museum of American Indian in Washington, D. C. It was also used in the Eiteljorg Musuem of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Other things named Kasota
Interestingly, Kasota was the name of a wooden Great Lakes Iron Ore Steamer, built in 1884, that sank after colliding with the passenger steamer “The City of Detroit.” The ‘Kasota ‘was salvaged and rebuilt in 1892 but sank from a leak that occurred during a storm off Grand Marais, Michigan, in 1903.
The USS Kasota was a Navy tug, also known as the “Mighty Deuces.” The Mighty Deuces launched in 1944 and was struck from the Navy list in 1961. It is believed to be the last wood hull boat in the Navy at the time.
See wikipedia for more information on Kasota.
But what about the goats?
A few years ago, we were in this same area – on our annual grave decorating tour. Near the city of Kasota, we found a place with many, many goats. We found that place again this year. However, the place did not look the same. The house appeared to be vacant. The goat pens were weathered. The lawn area was not maintained. However, there were still a lot of goats, jumping and walking around. They are a lot of fun to watch.
Thanks for reading. I hope you will return.
