Oronoco is a difficult town for me to write about as it has been a part of me since the start. I could tell you about the amazing times I had at the city park by then Lake Shady. I even meet Saudi Royalty there when I was 4 and made friends. The playground there was amazing when I was a kid. Metal slides that burn, a fun jungle gym shaped like a boat, a 4-way bouncing horse thing, and 2-person swing! This swing was awesome! You would have people on opposite sides, and most likely my mom would run or push a kid as fast as she could and let go. You would go flying around like a merry-go-round, but on a swing! I’m sure these were too dangerous and have since been replaced.
I could write about fishing at the dam under the bridge when I was a kid. I feared I’d fall in but was always excited to try and catch the first fish of the year! A big flood came through Oronoco in 2010ish time frame and took the dam out.
I could write about going to Lake Zumbro out of town and fishing there as a kid for catfish. Or about how I was always scared to go under the bridge by “Sandy Point Supper Club” (RIP). Speaking of Sandy Point, I still remember them getting my grilled cheese order wrong 2-3 times and the pickle juice soaking into my bread. Or there was Fisherman’s Inn that we’d go to for dinner and if you were lucky, you could see a waterski show. This also has now closed in the last few years.
But alas those are not things that are there anymore. You can still go to Lake Zumbro and enjoy water recreation. I’m sure as I go further into this journey, we will have plenty of lakes to have fun at. You can also still go to the Oronoco city park and camp and hike a few trails along what once was Lake Shady (destroyed when the dam went out).
Gold Rush
What I’m going to highlight is what most people know Oronoco for: Gold Rush! This year (2022) is the 50th anniversary of Gold Rush. It was on hiatus for 2020 and seemed to be smaller in 2021. Gold Rush is always the 3rd full weekend of August.
Gold Rush started out as an antique flea market. A local antique dealer had called some vendors together to do a little flea market. It was so successful they wanted to do it again and so the “Gold Rush Antique Show” began. It has morphed into a little more than that. There are still the antiques and flea market fair, but it also has crafts, furniture, food trucks, antique car shows, 5K, and more. It is more of a festival now more than ever before.
Gold Rush got its name not for the rush to get the antiques, but as a tribute to when gold was found in 1858 in Oronoco. A minning operation started up but was soon destroyed by a spring flood. I always heard that this is why the town was the county seat for a time (however it actually switched to Rochester due to its more central location in Olmsted County).
There is a great article here: History of Oronoco Downtown Gold Rush (oronocoareahistory.org) that you can read more about how it started and the split in the town and why there is a “Gold Rush Antique Show” in Rochester at the fairgrounds the same weekend. This is a story I always heard here and there, but now fully understand. Also check out History of Downtown Oronoco Gold Rush Days – Downtown Oronoco Gold Rush Days (goldrushmn.com)
I have a lot of memories going to Gold Rush as a kid and took my own children there last year for the first time. My eldest who interestingly enough likes history absolutely does not want to go back, while my other daughter does. I remember as a kid being “dragged” to Gold Rush almost every year. It would be hot, dusty, and my feet would hurt. Halfway through I would be bored out of my mind and would sit at the end of the row while my mom or dad would go down and back. Honestly there is a story about me being 1 month old there and my mom tripped in a hole while carrying me. No she did not drop me!
Most of the time my parents or aunt would have an item they were looking to buy-a China hutch, dollies, Red Wing Crocks, etc. I did find my own treasures as well including knick knacks, Green Bay Packer shot glasses for my collection, My Little Ponies (overpriced), my first leather purse, and more.
One time I was coming back with my aunt from the Twin Cities after having a sleepover. Her roommate was coming down to go to Gold Rush as well and was a little grumpy towards 6–7-year-old me. This was the age of prizes inside cereal boxes including the Disney TV show “Gummy Bear” stamps. I had the grumpy stamp and placed it ever so lightly on the back of my aunt’s roommate’s neck. It was a dark green, looked like a tattoo, AND she had a short pixy cut. At the end of goldrush I pointed it out to my aunt and mom. They thought it was funny, but the roommate did not!
By far the best memory I have of Gold Rush is the homemade ice cream sandwiches. I was disappointed they had run out last year when I went. This is a staple! I’m serious when I say I will go to Gold Rush just for one of these sandwiches. They were nothing fancy when I was a kid, but you knew it was homemade just by looking at it. Pure joy in a brick!
Now the stand has changed. If you look at the photo below the umbrella cart is pretty close to what it was for 20+ years. The stand was also in a different location as well. The original maker has retired and passed it onto a local ice cream place that say they use the same recipe. Also if you go to Pine Island they say you can get them there throughout the summer. I have not tried this YET. They tend to sell out of these by midafternoon on Saturday if you want one. I do remember 15+ years ago when I was a cashier at Walmart they came through and bought all the supplies. I was excited to see part of the magic!
History
If you are a history buff check out this link: History of Oronoco – City of Oronoco, Minnesota I am not going to go into nearly as much detail as what is available. I will say in the top section of my photos you can see some of the historic buildings including the school building (now town hall and used to be my girl scout meeting place) that was built in 1875.
Oronoco was named after the Orinoco River in South America by Dr. Hector Galloway. Per my sources it was trying to reference the great power of the Zumbro River that Oronoco, MN lies on. (Which it has used for power/electricity.) The village was first found in March 1854 with three bachelors Leonard B. Hodges, John B. Clark and Ebenezer S. Collings. They initially were trying to start up a Stagecoach line from St. Paul to Dubuque Iowa. Soon a mill, hotel, and more buildings were erected in Oronoco. There was the Gold Rush of 1858 that I’m sure played into the town’s success.
The town was officially incorporated on March 6, 1968. Since my childhood of the 1990’s the town’s population has over doubled from about 800 people to over 1,800 people.
Sources
Fisherman’s Inn (oronocoareahistory.org)
About – Oronoco Township, Minnesota (oronocotownship-mn.gov)