Construction Crews Just Made an Amazing Discovery in Minnesota
Construction crews were busy on a project when they made an amazing discovery in Minnesota, and you won't believe what they found.
As we know living here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, there really are just two seasons: winter and road construction, right? Well, seeing as it's finally not winter in Minnesota anymore, crews were taking advantage of it being the other season and were doing one construction project when they made a very cool discovery.
It happened in Rochester, which happens to be the third-largest city in Minnesota (only Minneapolis and St. Paul are bigger) and is the largest city outside of the Twin Cities metro area. And Rochester is in the middle of a LOT of construction projects these days, both public and private, much of it related to the Destination Medical Center initiative that is transforming parts of its downtown area near the world-famous Mayo Clinic campus.
READ MORE: MN's 'Most Iconic' Building Is Now Over 100 Years Old
It was during one of those projects that crews working for Rochester Public Utilities (RPU) made quite the find: A water main-- that was still in service-- that was first installed way back in 1887!
That's not a typo. This Rochester water main that crews just uncovered is over 136 years old, as you can see in the picture below. As RPU noted on its Twitter page:
This might be some of the best water main on the RPU water distribution system. It was made back in 1887 and is the oldest water main in Rochester.
Geez, I guess so! Chalk one up for the 'They Sure Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To' Department! Think about just how much life in Minnesota has changed since that water main was installed back in 1887. Back then, Grover Cleveland was serving as our 22nd president, while Andrew McGill had just taken office as Minnesota's fourth governor.
Heck, back in 1887, even the state of Minnesota itself was only fairly young, at only 29 years old, having just joined the union in 1858. And 136 years ago, that just-installed water main helped bring water to all 5,000 residents of Rochester. These days, the 2020 census says 121,583 people live in Minnesota's Med City.
Check out the amazing picture below! And while that water main has stood the test of time, not everything does, of course. So keep scrolling to check out some things from the year you were born that DON'T exist anymore!
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LOOK: Things from the year you were born that don't exist anymore
Gallery Credit: Stacey Marcus
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