Cannon City is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Rice County

Rice County, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 56,665 people, 18,888 households, and 13,353 families residing in the county. The population density was 114 people per square mile . There were 20,061 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile...

, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 approximately 5 miles northeast of Faribault

Faribault, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 20,818 people, 7,472 households, and 4,946 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,644.8 people per square mile . There were 7,668 housing units at an average density of 605.8 per square mile...

. A plank road connected the cities in 1857. It has since been paved. The town is home to approximately 100 people, and is served by a small community church.

A creamery and a small grocery store were once present, but have been closed for decades. The creamery is presently under renovation by a private party.

The town of Cannon City was the original model for Metropolisville in the novel The Mystery of Metropolisville by Edward Eggleston

Edward Eggleston

Edward Eggleston was an American historian and novelist.-Biography:Eggleston was born in Vevay, Indiana, to Joseph Cary Eggleston and Mary Jane Craig. As a child, he was too ill to regularly attend school, so his education was primarily provided by his father. He became an ordained Methodist...

Due to a quirk of zoning ordinance, Cannon City has once again seen housing starts beginning in 2001 after decades without new construction.