How a Ghost Town Became a Minnesota State Park

We Minnesotans love to get out and explore nature, especially in one of our many state parks. But there's one state park which if you've never visited before, you'll definitely want to now.

This particular state park is built on a ghost town!

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Haunted Places and Ghost Towns in Minnesota

Minnesota seems to be home to many ghost towns and also haunted spots. For example, they say that the small town of Grey Cloud Island is haunted.

READ MORE: Small Town is Possibly the Most Haunted Place in MN

You've also got the St. James Hotel in Red Wing that's supposedly haunted. Not to burst anyone's bubble, but my husband and I spent a night there are couple of years ago and didn't experience anything super natural. It was an amazing place to stay though!

As for ghost towns, there are 9 just within 100 miles of Rochester.

READ MORE: 9 Strange Ghost Towns Within 100 Miles of Rochester

Banning State Park is on a Minnesota Ghost Town

Speaking of ghost towns, the state park that was built on a ghost town is Banning State Park in Sandstone, Minnesota.

So how did this happen? Why is there a state park on a ghost town?

History of Banning State Park

Banning State Park used to be the town of Banning, named after "William L. Banning, former president of the St. Paul and Duluth railroad" according to the MN DNR.

The area was first the Banning quarry where many people came to work and eventually it also became the town of Banning with it's peak population at 300 people, according to WCCO.

The town was around between 1892 and 1912 and had a bar, motel, boarding house, and some homes.

Eventually everyone packed up and left the town of Banning because of "lack of high-quality stone and more demand for steel." Then, Banning State Park was established thanks to the Recreational Omnibus Bill of 1963.

Today, you can still see some walls from the old buildings in the state park. You can also see some of the spots where people would work in the quarry. Park manager Clarissa Payne pointed out to WCCO that you can still see some drill holes in some of the rock.