From Trading Post To Thriving Town, Sauk Rapids’ Journey

The city of Sauk Rapids was platted in 1851 along the shores of the Mississippi River.  To tell the story of this growing community I was joined by Benton County Historical Society Executive Director Lacey Fontaine, Benton County Research Specialist Wendy Wheeler, and Sauk Rapids Mayor Jason Ellering.

Started as a Trading Post

Fontaine says Sauk Rapids had trading posts in the area prior to the town being platted.  She says the indigenous people used the area for trade.  The first white settlers included Jeremiah Russell who arrived in the area in 1848 to manage the American Fur Company post.  Fontaine says he would trade furs, deer, and muskrat while exchanging metal tools, cloth, firearms and European goods.  Russell is often called the father of Benton County.  He founded the Sauk Rapids Frontiersmen, which was the first newspaper in the area.

Original Settlement

Sauk Rapids has always been known as Sauk Rapids while other communities had different names years ago.  The original settlement is located where the Fishers Mobile Home Park is located.  Wheeler says there is a big stone there that said Jeremiah Russell original settlement.  Wheeler says the town was platted closer to where the downtown is currently located on Benton Drive and 2nd Street.

First Businesses

Fontaine says farming was big in the area but the community also had a flour mill, lumber mill, mercantile, and hotels.  The Jimmy's Pour House building on 2nd street was once a hotel.   Early churches in the community included both Lutheran and Catholic.  Wheeler says there was a strong German presence from the early settlers.  She says there were also people with Polish and Scandinavian descent.  Wheeler says many of the early settlers had native American wives.

Tornado of 1886

The tornado in 1886 devastated the community of Sauk Rapids wiping out numerous buildings and causing 72 casualties and hundreds of injuries.  Sauk Rapids was bigger than St. Cloud at the time of the tornado due in part to the fact that they had a land office.  Fontaine says St. Cloud had been just granted a land office prior to the tornado and would have likely become larger than Sauk Rapids regardless of the storm.

Rebuilding Sauk Rapids

Following the tornado, the majority of the businesses rebuilt aside from the flour mill.  Wheeler says the Sauk Rapids residents who survived were resilient and rebuilt the homes and businesses as quick as possible.  The Benton County Historical Society is located in the Robinson-Stanton house which was built in 1872 by Leonard Robinson.  Fontaine says he was a granite mogul.  The building survived the tornado with only minor injuries.  The building had many different uses over the years.  It was a make shift hospital prior to it becoming a care facility.  The care facility closed down in 2011 and was bought by the Benton County Historical Society.

The Railroad

Steamboats were a big part of transportation into Sauk Rapids before the Northern Pacific Railroad came through town starting in the 1860s.  Sauk Rapids had street cars starting in the 1890s and they ran until the 1930s.  Wheeler says buses replaced street cars at that point.  The Searle Theater was built in 1911 and that building no longer exists.  Wheeler says the Sauk Rapids Herald building used to be a movie theater.

Coborns

Wheeler says Coborns started as a feed and seed business in the 1880s in Sauk Rapids.  Brothers Chester and Lee Coborn started the original feed store that later morphed into a grocery store.  Wheeler says Coborns used to load up the horse and buggy and deliver groceries in the early days.

Schools

During early settlement times in the late 1800s there were school houses about every 2 miles apart.  Wheeler says many of the school houses that existed prior to the tornado were lost in the storm.  She says Hillside become the high school in Sauk Rapids in the early 1900s and is still in use today.  It is no longer the high school.  The current middle school was once the high school before the new high school was built east of Highway 10 approximately 20 years ago.

Current Sauk Rapids

Sauk Rapids currently has a population of 13,862.  Their mayor is Jason Ellering.  Jason says a big development in city in the last 15-20 years was the revitalization of the downtown when the new bridge was constructed over the Mississippi River connecting Sauk Rapids to St. Cloud.  Ellering says the downtown is the focus of the community.  He says residents have indicated to him that they really like the downtown and would like to see it expanded.

Events That Bring the Public Together

Sauk Rapids has recently made an effort to enhance their parks with improvements to the Clearing and Lions Southside Park, along the river.  The Rock the Riverside Concert series has been a recent nice addition to the area according to Ellering.  Sauk Rapids River Days is held in late June is an event that brings the community together.  The Benton County Fair is also held in Sauk Rapids in early August every year.

Top Employers

The largest employer in Sauk Rapids is now J-Berd, with the school district coming in second. Other notable employers include Good Shepherd, Coborn’s, C&L Distributing, and Huisken Meats.

If you'd like to listen to my 2-part conversation with Lacey and Wendy, click below.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Mayor Jason Ellering, click below.