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When was the last time someone suggested heading over to Oberle's Corners for a bite to eat? Oberle's Corners is one of the county's numerous ghost towns. Ghost towns bring to mind images of long deserted buildings with boarded up windows, but that's not what most ghost towns look like.
One lost town is the village of San Francisco. This small town once boasted the county seat, even if it was only for one year. The place where the settlers chose to put this town was a bad spot along the Minnesota River. The river flooded nearly every year and the rapids just above the town made it difficult for steamboats to reach the town. In the 1860s there was a big flood that destroyed some of the buildings. After that, most people moved away.
There are many reasons why a town might not survive: being circumvented by the railroad, poor location, or being enveloped by a neighboring town. For whatever reason, the community did not become, or could not remain, a town with a governing body. But even if they cannot be called towns, some are still used as reference points in the county.
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