Tour Map

If you look closely at this map of the downtown area of Mankato, one of the first things that you will notice is that the "original" plat of the city was laid out essentially at right angles to the point on the Minnesota River where it bends away to the North. 

  At the time of the original founding of the city and the plan for the plat, the river was the primary access to this remote frontier location.  Therefore the plat was designed to fit into the river valley, which was essentially constrained by the bluffs, the river, the slough (where Mankato West High School and the new site of Cub's Supermarket is today) and the area known as "The Prairie".  "The Prairie" was located just north of Madison Avenue along today's Riverfront Drive.  However, because this section of land was underlain with thick layers of limestone immediately below the surface, it was considered a barrier to development.

Directions from the MSU Campus:

Follow Val Illm Drive into warren Street. Where Warren turns into a one-way street, bear slightly to the right (not a hard right). At the stop sign, turn left onto Cherry Street, (the Blue Earth Historical Society is the building on the left corner), at the next street (Fourth Street), turn right. Go halfway down the block to Jackson Street. You can park on either side of the street without a permit in this area.

Now follow the map found in the walking tour booklet.