St. Cloud’s Granite Markers Tell The Story Of The South Side

ST. CLOUD - (WJON News) -- If you've spent any time walking or driving through St. Cloud's historic southside neighborhood, you've probably noticed several granite markers on prominent street corners.

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Community Development Director Matt Glaesman says it was a unique partnership between the city and the neighborhood that installed the markers about 15 years ago, between 2010 and 2013.

The markers themselves aren't historic, but their location at prominent intersections generally reflects the boundary of the South Side Historic District.  You'll find about 30 of them throughout the neighborhood.  Their design is meant to resemble the hitching posts people would have used to tie their horses back in the early days of that neighborhood.

The Southside Neighborhood Historic District is one of St. Cloud’s oldest residential neighborhoods, Middle Town, which was platted in 1854 by John L. Wilson. Streets in Middle Town were aligned parallel to the Mississippi River and extended south to the historic ravine that once ran all the way from Lake George to the river.

According to the Stearns History Museum, a similar, much older street corner project once existed in the same neighborhood.  Back in the summer of 1938, a total of 10 granite markers were installed.  They were manufactured by the Cold Spring Granite Company. Those makers were about one foot in dimension near the base and had the street designation cut on all four sides.

The idea for the company at that time was for the St. Cloud markers to be a trial, and if they were liked, they could be sold all over the country.

Unfortunately, none of those original street markers still exist in St. Cloud.