Towboat and Barge - Sepia Saturday

"Towboatin' life, towboatin' wife, oh how life

yesterday it once was."


Sepia Saturday Post

Nininger, Minnesota

Part One
My Quest for Minnesota Ghost Towns.

To be, or not to be a ghost town?

That is my question.

(Ghost town- a deserted town with few or no remaining inhabitants)

Nininger, Minnesota- listed as, a Ghost Town.

Nininger, Minnesota from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.


I'm admitting Nininger to my list of Minnesota Ghost Towns. 


Intriguing facts to consider yet, about Nininger.

Research revealed one charismatic founder of Nininger, Lieutenant Governor Ignatius Donnelly.  Quite an unusual character by many means.  Outside of his love for country and his home town of Nininger (not his birthplace) his real claim to fame arrived from his published books and lectures suggesting that Shakespeare's works were actually written by Francis Bacon.  Donnelly also wrote about his interest and beliefs in Atlantis being a real place in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean that had been destroyed historically as Plato suggested.  

Sometimes to discover the actual person one must steer toward truth, away from biased beliefs and refer rather to sources cleverly recorded, and backed up by an ever lasting spine.  There's always something desperately waiting within the pages of reference books about individuals, if you take the time to research.



Nininger was originally founded by John Nininger, brother-in-law of territorial and state Governor Alexander Ramsey with the great hopes that one day it would be our state capital.  However, success of the town hinged on many events, and quickly that hope faded.  As soon as the post office discontinued business in 1889 after 33 years of service, the town's fate was sealed.  Virtually no trace of that promised city remains today, although it is populated with a good number of residents and the Nininger Town Hall is actively in business yet today.

A few decades ago-
Sparked by curiosity, Robert Schimke, a registered architect and lecturer in Minnesota, proposed an adventurous idea about the town of Nininger to his class at the University of Minnesota.

He challenged his students to design and build a scale model of Nininger City as it would appear in the year 4000.

The History of Nininger, More Than Just a Dream?

Some town folks say this belonged to the Donnelly family.

I took this photo above and is just one of many relics still on his old property, depicting the days when Ignatius Donnelly roamed and raised his family, and was often called "The Sage of Nininger."

Wikipedia defines Nininger as a ghost town, a good number of Paranormal and Oddities Observation Practitioners, believe it to be a ghost town, with paranormal tendencies. 

SO, my Part Two will feature this-

In Regards to A Ghost Story.  True or false?

Apparently, like with all intriguing ghost towns, ghost often have a way of showing up when you least expect them.  

There are folks that swear real ghosts roam this very area that once was a bustling town of over 1,000 people.  It seems through their accounts that these ghosts can be seen and heard exactly where Ignatius Donnelly lived.  

I shall share in Part Two my own findings, and I'm hoping you return for the rest of the ghost story.

Thanks for sharing a bit of your time here.

Getting back into the swing of Sepia Saturday, I will expose and share the Ghost Towns of Minnesota, by way of foot and vehicle when possible.  I hope you join me as well.