Very Old St. Cloud Home to be Demolished, Or You Can Have It

ST. CLOUD -  One of the oldest homes in St. Cloud and Stearns County has been sold, and is scheduled to be torn down, unless someone steps up to take it and save it.

Fredrich Kuhne homesteaded 160 acres near what's now County Road 75/Roosevelt Road way back in 1854. It was deeded in 1860. That makes the farmsite two years older than St. Cloud. And, it's four years older than Minnesota, which didn't become a state until four years later in 1858. (The exact date and year that the house itself was built isn't clear.)

The farmsite had stayed in the Kuhn family for 161 years, until it was sold to Ryan Mulliner last month. However, the crop land has been sold off in bits and pieces over the years, including some to build a Happy Chef, and to make way for Interstate 94, back in the 1970's.

The Stearns History Museum designated it a "Century Farm" in 1979.

Mulliner says he's willing to give the house away to anyone who wants to save it, as long as they pay the cost to move it. Anyone interested can call (320) 420-4839.

Mulliner says he and his business partner Richard Nistler are planning a new housing and retail development for the nearly six-acre site.