On top of a hill overlooking the small Minnesota town of Fergus Falls sits one of the largest and most influential hospitals ever to exist. Between the year 1890 and 2009 the Fergus Falls State Hospital served thousands of mentally ill, developmentally disabled, and chemical dependent clients. It's impact on the state of Minnesota was immense, and today it continues to be a tremendously important place for many people despite it's closure.
"I strongly believe that if it weren't for us and the efforts of The Friends of the Kirkbride, that this would not be here today."
"When I get to heaven there will be a State Hospital waiting there for me to be groundskeeper"
Probstfield Farm was the first settlement in Moorhead, MN. Today the settlement is a crumbling relic of the history of the Red River Valley.
Phelps Mill was in operation from 1889 until 1939. At the peak of its life it produced about 70 barrels of flour a day. Today, Ottertail County owns the Mill, and it remains a carefully preserved reminder of what was once a major industry in western Minnesota.
Built in 1895 the Moorhead, Minnesota Power Plant provided power along the Red River Valley. However, 119 years later it no longer provided a viable resource for the city and it was demolished in August, 2014.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park is home to the world’s largest exposed Permian coral reef. In addition to mountains towering above the Texas desert floor, visitors experience some of the darkest night skies in the country. These photographs were taken over the course of July, 2019 during an artist residency in the National Park.
An odd building sits at the end of a road closed off to visitors at Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The house, named Ship of the Desert, was originally a vacation home for renowned oil geologist Wallace Pratt until 1963. He intended for his home to resemble an oil tanker that he owned. Today the house is occupied only occasionally by researchers, and the National Park Service is in the process of procuring funding for repairs.
