It’s the ultimate guide to all things Minnesota. Wandermore in Minnesota: Your Ultimate Guide to the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Seth Varner, travel and history author made it his mission to document all 856 of Minnesota’s incorporated communities throughout 2025. And now his book is completed and in print.
In 2020, Seth had the idea to visit every incorporated town in his home state of Nebraska. He has since traveled to every incorporated town in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and both Dakotas (over 3,000 communities) in the last half-decade. He learned about the history of every community and the famous people and landmarks that make each town unique. Found dates for local festivals, recreation areas and parks to relax at, restaurants to enjoy, museums to explore, and quirky lodging options all around the state
Twenty-five year old traveler Seth Varner has visited every incorporated community in Minnesota and compiled a history book and travel guide that will inspire readers to explore the state and all its beauty. There are colorful photos from all 87 counties and utilize the QR code system (SMARTPHONE INTERACTIVE) to view tens of thousands more online. The Minnesota QR Codes contain over 120,000 photos, several tens of thousands of which were never shared on Facebook and can only be seen with the help of the book. Approximately 704 full-color printed photos are included under the cover. Over 800 pages in a paper back volume. Also locate campsites, county fair locations, golf courses, breweries, and more inside. Nobody knows more than Wandermore. Contact Seth at sethvarner@wandermorepublishing.com
Town 735 of 856: Kasson, MN Population: 6,851
When the Winona & Saint Peter (Chicago & Northwestern) Railroad was built south of Mantorville rather than through it, landowner Jabez Hyde Kasson allowed the establishment of a new town on his land, bearing his surname. On October 13, 1865, the plat was filed, and by November, trains were already running up and down the line, servicing the village. Postal service commenced in 1866, and on February 24, 1870, Kasson was incorporated. The Dodge County Republican was published in Kasson for the first time on May 3, 1867. Over the next several decades, new and impressive structures like the Eureka Hotel (1894), Kasson Municipal Building (1917), and the Kasson Public School, the local elementary and high school from December 5, 1918, to 1954, were erected. Kasson's iconic limestone water tower was built in 1895 and has since served as a beacon among the city's local landmarks. Other noteworthy places in early 20th-century Kasson included its electric light plant, town hall, a mill, an Episcopal church, a Methodist Episcopal church, a Presbyterian church, a Baptist church, a Lutheran church, and three grain elevators. Peg Lynch, widely regarded as "the woman who invented sitcom" for her work on over 11,000 television and radio scripts and for creating Ethel and Albert and The Couple Next Door, was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, but grew up in Kasson.
Town 736 of 856: Mantorville, MN Population: 1,111
Nothing says Mantorville more than its iconic, unique export, Mantorville limestone, which has been used in buildings such as Rochester's St. Mary's Hospital, the Dodge County Courthouse, and others throughout the country. When Peter, Riley, and Frank Mantor settled here in 1853 and are the namesake of the community, which on March 26, 1856, was platted by Peter, H. A. Pratt, and others. When the Civil War broke out, Peter established Company C of the Second Minnesota Regiment. Nearly every one of the local men was killed, which left Mantorville with a plethora of widows and orphans. Its remaining residents forged onwards, and a sawmill and gristmill were amongst the original establishments. As Mantorville grew in population with the arrival of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway and became the Dodge County seat, many other places naturally sprang up. Two dozen buildings constructed between 1854 and 1918, including the 1856-57 Hubbell House hotel and the 1865 Dodge County Courthouse, Minnesota's oldest continuously operating courthouse, have since been listed as the Mantorville Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. It was surpassed by the Winona & Saint Peter Railroad in favor of the Kasson area, but eventually it was connected to both that line and the Chicago & Great Western Railway via spurs. The population of Mantorville varied between 381 and 602 residents between the 1880s and 1970s, until it began to rise as automobile commuters to Rochester settled there. Its most famous son is Edwin Osgood Grover, a publisher renowned for his work at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.
