Explore Northfield

Take a step back in time by exploring historic downtown Northfield. You will see the heartbeat of downtown, Bridge Square, explore the the industry that kick-started Northfield, and see many different architectural styles. After taking a stroll…

Norway Valley, a 15-acre parcel of native hardwood trees, is the oldest woodland area on the St. Olaf College campus. It was originally named the Vale of Tawasentha, borrowed from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, The Song of Hiawatha.

The tour, “As It Was,” highlights several locations that at one time or another were integral to the college, even if for a short period. Today their historical significance is nearly forgotten or lost by most of the current community.

The tour provides a rich and unique perspective of St. Olaf College. Since the founding of the college in 1874, numerous memorable events have taken place.

When the term “rivalry” is used today to describe the relationship between the two colleges, typically it is a reference to an athletic competition. But that was not always the case. Fundamentally both schools were founded for different reasons…

The Monuments and Memories tour winds its way through the St. Olaf College campus and into downtown Northfield. The sites reflect individuals, traditions, and artistic and natural elements that honor the memory of those associations since the…

Established in 1866 by two Northfield businessmen, Charles M. Goodsell and Charles Augustus Wheaton, Carleton College was originally just one building—Willis Hall. Classes, men’s and women’s dormitories, the chapel, and the library were…

Carleton College and the town of Northfield are inextricably linked, and there is a noticeable lack of boundaries between the two. This tour highlights the interactions between town and gown. From professors respected by both the student body and…

Like the Town and College Beginnings tour, Town and Gown focuses on the relationship between Northfield and Carleton College. While the first tour showed how the college and town grew up alongside each other, this walk among more contemporary campus…

Like Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory that students study in the buildings on this tour, our conceptions of nature have evolved over Carleton’s 150 years. Nature has been both the subject of scientific inquiry and artistic and religious…

Since the Progressive Era at the turn of the nineteenth century, Carleton College has considered exercise and healthy lifestyle habits to be an essential part of a student’s education. Sites around campus adapted to or were built to accommodate…