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Sanborn, Minnesota is in lower Redwood County. US Highway 71 runs in a north-south direction along the eastern section of the city, and County Highways 15 and 115 intersect in the center of town, where they are known as West Central Street and Main Street, respectively.

Lamberton is about nine miles west, Springfield about ten miles east, Rowena thirteen miles north, and Windom twenty-four miles south of Sanborn. Walnut Grove, of Little House on the Prairie fame, is only about twenty miles west of Sanborn.

The Cottonwood River winds through the southern portion of the city diagonally, and the Farmers Golf Course extends to the west, encompassing several winds in the river.

In the late 1800s, there were no highways in southwestern Minnesota. Newly formed communities were connected by railroads and rivers, with people traveling by train or by steamboat, where there were rivers deep enough to accommodate a riverboat. Most of these settlements were connected by rail.

Sanborn began as a railroad village. Platted in 1881, Sanborn was incorporated in November of 1891, and named for Sherburn Sanborn, a long-time officer of the Chicago and North Western Railway Company.

A post office was established in Sanborn in May of 1880. Although the city's population has been largely declining since 1950, at one time it was home to four elevators and several businesses. Its peak population was in 1950 when it had a population of 613. At the time of the 2010 census, its population was 339, and it was estimated to be lower than that in 2017.

An interesting feature in Sanborn is the McCone Sod Houses. Stan McCone, a Sanborn farmer, had heard the stories of the early sod houses, such as that inhabited by Laura Ingalls, when she was a child, just west of Sanborn. Wanting to recreate the old sod houses, McCone built two of them. One, which he refers to as the poor man's soddie, is most like the ones that people lived in over a century ago. It is small and dark, while the other sod house, which he refers to as the rich man's soddie, has whitewashed walls, paned glass windows, and a roof that is supported by planks and covered with tarpaper beneath the sod. The sod houses are open for public tours.

Sanborn, Minnesota is the focus of this category. Websites representing the municipal government or any of its agencies or departments are appropriate for this category, as are those of Sanborn businesses, organizations, schools, churches, or individuals.

 

 

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