57 WINTER 2022 ISSUE 02 / VOL . 03 SNOWGOER . COM
58 ing alongside traffic and looking out for cross-traffic at every crossing , launching your sled off countless jumps is exceptionally fun . It ’ s also a fine way to get some exercise .
Our trail eventually linked up with a connecting route , the thankfully unique MN-67 , which brought us into Browerville , a little farming center settled in 1865 . This is as Norman Rockwell Americana as it gets : Amish horse-drawn buggies , a tiny business district with one restaurant , and a stately church with a bulb-like steeple and clock tower overlooking the pastoral village .
There aren ’ t many small towns left like this that still function as they did in the early 1900s rather than dying out , and we made plans to eat at that restaurant , charmingly named The Café , on our return ride .
Rose City To Spruce Hill
The scenery drastically changed west of Browerville , as rolling hills gave way to largely treeless flatlands that define the western Minnesota prairie . Occasional farms punctuated the open fields , but most were boarded up for the season or permanently abandoned . Like a life-size museum exhibit , such countryside demonstrates the toll that modern life and globalized agriculture have taken on family-run farms . Snowed-in homes and corroding equipment , with miniature windblown snow twisters cutting across fields — you can ’ t help but appreciate the tenacity of the area ’ s surviving farmers .
Roads here are laid out in squares , all east-to-west and north-to-south . Thankfully , Trail 283 follows a circuitous path as it runs along the north side of County Highway 14 .
Weaving and winding our way along , we saw a pack of riders approaching from the opposite direction . When one passing rider reached out a high-five , we realized friends we planned to meet made excellent time . After chewing the fat beside the trail , we drove the remaining 15 miles together to Sheila ’ s Place , a restaurant and BBQ joint — the lone building at an intersection of a village called Rose City . The adjacent business strip was overgrown as nature reclaimed the few remaining buildings .
Contributing writer Jeff Oberg grew up in this area . After meeting up with him and two friends , they led us on a tour of his family ’ s nearby cabin , and then off the path to see the remnants of an abandoned town , Spruce Hill .
Oberg was emphatic about budgeting
Spruce Hill Remembered
The long-gone community of Spruce Hill , located in Douglas County , Minn ., was established January 5 , 1875 . In its heyday , the town had a sawmill , grocery store and blacksmith shop , among others .
Due to several factors , including being left out of the burgeoning railroad expansion of the time , Spruce Hill gradually depopulated and was largely vacated by the middle of the 1920s .
Today , the community lives on as Spruce Hill Park .
time to explore Spruce Hill , and we were excited to learn the history of a township whose residents took advantage of the gentle rolling hills , abundant water and thick woods of this beautiful land .
A few foundations remain , as well as a beaten path that was once a covered wagon trail . The bulk of Spruce Hill is now a county park , with signs marking the old school , burial site ,
Mildred Anderson Dahl in “ Spruce Hill Remembered ” catalogued the town ’ s history in great detail . Speaking of her book , the Library
IMAGE CREDIT : Ada Peterson Johnson “ Spruce Hill Village and Dam ”
of Congress said , “ this is a work of genuine scholarship , and invaluable to anyone having a connection to Spruce Hill .” blacksmith shop , the sawmill ’ s earthen dam and where a footbridge once crossed Spruce Creek .
Spruce Hill lives on today as a park that welcomes cross-country skiers and snowmobilers in the winter . In the summer months , it ’ s a place of relaxation for the area ’ s remaining residents . This scenic spot must have been a pleasurable place to live amid the stands of spruce , birch , aspen and tamarack .