Back Roads

This week’s Back Roads is the work of The Land Correspondent Richard Siemers. Not to be cancelled

During the New Deal, the WPA built post offices across the country. Over 30 were built in Iowa, and at least 17 in Minnesota. The one built in Northfield, Minn. was not the standard pattern. It took a special act of congress to appropriate money to hire an architect to design a facility to fit the parcel of land on which it was to be built.

What is so different? The building is a hexagonal wedge. Three sides of the hexagon form the façade, with the left wing facing the Cannon River, the right wing overlooking Bridge Square, and the central portion holding the entrance. Behind this lobby portion, two more sides were elongated to fit the hexagon into a wedgeshaped piece of land.

Built in 1936, it was not one of the many post office buildings ornamented with a mural. Perhaps the WPA thought it was enough of an architectural treasure with its bay windows and Gothic Revival style.

The lack of a proper mural was rectified at the 50th anniversary of the Post Office building in 1986 when the postmaster sought help from the Northfield Arts Guild. They held a competition and the design of Margit Carson Johnson won. In an email conversation she said she thought her design won “because it did NOT portray the Jesse James gang or the raid” which is celebrated all over town.

Being a local artist, she turned to local history and explains her approach this way: “As a graphic designer I was thinking about the long natural history of the Northfield area, followed by the Wahpekute Dakota for thousands of years and more recently the arrival of John North [for whom the town is named], settlers and townspeople. So most of the mural illustrates the glaciers that shaped our landscape followed by the rich prairies and Big Woods.” The mural covers one wall above the post office boxes. Viewers are aided by explanations. Above the mural it reads: “Glacial meltwaters fed the Cannon River and more than 10,000 Lakes – the Big Woods of Oak Basswood and Maple – Dakota Wahpekute “Leafshooters” – Corn and Beans, Industry, Education and Tourists thrive.” Below the mural: “Paleozoic Platteville limestone was quarried to build this Post Office in 1936 – Beneath the Tallgrass Prairie—Rich Deep Soils for Wheat – Ann and John North and Milling – Holstein Dairies – Cows, Colleges, and Contentment. Margit Carson Johnson, 23 July 1986.” Johnson wanted this to be a community project so she transferred her design to the wall and volunteers came in after hours to paint it. A plaque lists the names of the painters. A decade ago, the U.S. Postal Service planned to merge the two Northfield Post Offices and sell the Bridge Square facility; but the community rallied behind the historic building and it is still serving people today. The Post Office is located in downtown Northfield on Water St. South, next to Bridge Square. You can view the mural during regular post office hours. v

Northfield, Minn.

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