Milbank blends baseball legacy with outdoor appeal
Surrounded by flourishing dairy farms and hazy-tinted Midwestern skies, Milbank is a community rooted in farm culture and baseball. In 1925, it was the birthplace of the American Legion Baseball league, an amateur organization that grew to include more than 3,500 teams across North America. Today, Milbank has a classic Main Street center and a lakeside park on the Minnesota-South Dakota border. "It's a rural area with small-town living. It's peaceful, and we're a pretty friendly area," says Brandon Peery, a lifelong resident and broker associate at 203 Realty. "I've lived here 23 years. I like to hunt and fish, I like the people here and the small-town living."
Wide streets and Craftsman-style homes with rising values
Milbank has wide residential streets shaded by mature pine trees. It features Craftsman-style and New Traditional homes. As of August 2025, prices have increased by 13% over the previous year. The median construction year is 1952, and houses are slightly larger than the national average. Prices range from $40,000 to $600,000, although the median sale price is $175,000. Houses larger than 2,500 square feet are typically more than $500,000. "In the last five years, our prices have nearly doubled," Peery says. "They don't stay on the market very long. Anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks."
This community may experience cold temperature waves and winter weather. The area receives about 30 inches of snow annually, and temperatures may drop below 10°F in the winter. However, conditions are typically much less severe than in other parts of the state.
B-rated schools offer after-school help and career prep courses
Milbank Elementary School earns a B-plus grade from Niche and offers the OST program, which allows students to work on homework and other activities after school. Milbank Middle School has a B, and its band program has resources for online practice. Milbank High School receives a B-minus, with career-oriented courses like robotics engineering, agriculture and biomedical science.
Main Street businesses include restaurants and bars
Downtown Milbank is centered around Main Street, lined with well-established businesses in early 20th-century buildings. Pizza Ranch is a buffet-style restaurant with games and an Old West theme. The Pump 2.0 is known for serving burgers in a dive bar with slot machines and pool tables. Residents can also grab breakfast at the Millstone Family Restaurant. The community's main grocery store is Berens Market, and nearby convenience stores like Dollar General are nearby.
Walking trails and water views at Lake Farley
Milbank's most popular green space is Lake Farley Park, which has a lakeside beach and a walking trail by the water. Hurley Park has soccer fields and an ice-skating rink during the winter. Pribyl Park features a disc golf course, baseball diamonds and a skatepark. The Whetstone Creek Golf Course has an 18-hole layout. About 14 miles north, Hartford Beach State Park has five hiking trails with scenic views and native burial mounds. It is also an access point to Big Stone Lake, providing a beach and boat launches. Legion Field opened in 2024, commemorating the community's history and involvement in the ALB league. "We're the home of ALB, and we just built a new field," Peery says.
Highways and the Watertown airport provide transportation
One of the area's largest employers is the Milbank Area Health Care Campus, which has an emergency room about a mile east of Main Street. U.S. Highway 12 and state Route 15 intersect in Milbank, offering multiple ways to get around the region. Minneapolis is approximately 200 miles east. Watertown is about 45 miles southwest on U.S. Interstate 29. The Watertown Regional Airport offers daily flights to Denver and Chicago .
