STEARNS COUNTY

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EXISTING STATIONS
Station
Name
Original
Railroad
Current
Location
Type Date
Built
Current
Use
Track
Status
Building
Material
More
Info
Albany Stearns County Pioneer Club on 360th Street between MN-238 and CR-10. C 1888 Club None Wood
burtrum
(Todd Co.)
Part of an antique complex off CR-65 between Sauk Center and Melrose (Stearns County).
36079 County Road 65, Sauk Centre.
(GPS: 45.69149663125741,-94.8634859919548)
C ???? Museum None Wood  
cold spring Tire Service on MN-23 at 5th Avenue (on the NW corner)
(GPS: 45.452844, -94.430868)
C ???? ???? None Wood
collegeville North side of Old Collegeville Road between Collegeville Road and the bikepath.
(GPS: 45.594257, -94.363583)
C 1879 Residence None Wood  
eden valley
(Meeker Co.)
Grande Depot Shops, 8318 MN-23 (at I-94), southwest of St. Cloud.
(GPS: 45.516219,-94.281181)
C 1913 Businesses None Wood
freeport In an alley near East Main (CR-157) and 6th Avenue NE
(GPS: 45.661052, -94.682107)
C ???? Vacant None Wood
Richmond
(Torah)
West end of 2nd Street SW, where it ends at the river and just NW of the water treatment plant
(GPS: 45.452214, -94.525305)
C 1900 Residence None Wood
St. Cloud 1715 Breckenridge Ave. (off 5 1/2 Street North).
(GPS: 45.561872, -94.177230)
C 1899 Railroad In Use Granite  
sauk center
(Part 1)
Half of station moved to farm northeast of town, 2 miles north of S.R. 28 at 11968 CR-15 in Todd County. C 1892 Storage None Wood
Sauk Center
(part 2)
Half of station moved to Little Sauk, 1 block east of US 71 on CR-6 and 1 block south at 15763 221st. Avenue
(GPS: 45.857771,-94.912989)
C 1892 Business None Wood  
Sauk center 109 Main Street South
(GPS: 45.739012, -94.95147)
C 1884 Business None Wood  
STATIONS OF THE PAST
Station
Name
Original
Railroad
Notes
Albany  
Avon This station was on the east side of Avon Avenue. There now appears to be a pavilion at this location. According to the 1915 GN Valuation records, a 20'x72' combination station was built here in 1903.
Belgrade This station was between Washburn and Martin Avenues on the south side of the tracks.
Brooten This depot was on Railway Avenue between Central and Pleasant.
Elrosa  
Georgeville  
Greenwald
(Estam)
 
Holdingford  
Kimball Prairie This station was on the west side of the southern end of Elm Street.
Melrose This station, the second at Melrose, was on the west side of South 4th Avenue East (formerly Morris Street). It was torn down and used for lumber. According to the 1915 GN Valuation records, this 30'x97' combination station was built here in 1910. It was torn down in 1982.
new munich This station was moved to a farm northeast of town after it went out of service, but is now gone.
O'Brien Station This station was in the SW corner of Section 17 in St. Cloud Township. It was along the GN, just to the SE of Waite Park. There were several spurs near the station that led to nearby granite quarries. It was abandoned as a station by the GN in 1928.
Paynesville
Station
Built in 1890, this depot was located on the SW side of Desmond Drive (formerly 4th Street). It was later moved to Rice lake where it served as a cottage before buring down in the 1990s.
Paynesville This station was on the east side of Washburn Avenue. Old Paynesville was annexed to New Paynesville in 1904 (when the "Old" and "New" distinctions disappeared). After service, the station was moved to Rice Lake east of Morning Star Resort and served as a cabin. It burned down around 1995-98.
Picardy This station was between Melrose and Sauk Center. It was abandoned by the GN in November 1932.
Richmond
(Torah)
The first station here was built in 1890. The original depot here was damaged in storms in 1895 (St. Paul Globe, 6-11-1895) and may have been replaced in 1900 as a result of that or due to a fire.
Rockville In 1896, the first station here was just to the NE of the north end of Elm Street. The station closed in 1952.
st. joseph Originally located on College Avenue North, this station was reportedly used by the Boy Scouts after being retired, but was subsequently torn down. According to the 1915 GN Valuation records, a 30'x60' freight and passenger platform was built here in 1906 and was the only facility here is 1915, so the station may have been moved or retired by then.
Roscoe
(Zion)
 
Sauk Center This appears to be an older station that predated the one that still exists.
St. Augusta According to the 1915 GN Valuation records, the station here was only an 8'x12' shelter shed with a station sign and a 12'x124' platform. St. Augusta was officially abandoned by the GN as a station in April 1943.
St. Cloud The original station here was on the south side of the tracks between 9th Avenue North (formerly State Street) and 8th Avenue North (formerly Hanover Street) at GPS: 45.561899, -94.164365. The station is shown on the 1884-1898 Sanborn maps.
St. Cloud The original freight house was on the north side of Breckenridge Avenue west of 10th Avenue (formerly Prince Street) at GPS: 45.561891, -94.168003. It was destroyed in the cyclone of 1888 and likely rebuilt on the same spot soon after.
St. Cloud According to the GN Valuation records, a 40' X 200' brick freight station was built here in 1899. Those records also indicate that the old 40' X 120' frame freight station was sold and "removed" in 1916, however this frame freight station was not the one listed above as that one is still shown on maps after 1916. It is unclear if "removed" meant moved or dismanltled.
Stiles
(Ashley)
This station was on the western edge of Section 11 of Ashley Township west of Sauk Center on the NP.
Waite Park This station was abandoned by the GN in April 1952.
1898 STEARNS COUNTY RAILROAD MAP
Notes About Existing Stations...

Albany (GN) - The original location of the station was on Church Avenue east of 5th Street. It was on the south side of the tracks. Station was moved to Pioneer Grounds in 1972. Although some have cited a build date of 1893, according to the 1915 GN Valuation records, a 24'x63' combination station was built here in 1888 and still in use as of that year so 1888 is the more likely build date.

Cold Spring (GN) - Building has been heavily modified. Not sure if coordinates are indicating the right building. Can someone verify?

Eden Valley (Soo Line) - Moved in 1976 to Roscoe for a short time and then on to Saint Cloud in Stearns County. The original location of this depot was on the west side of State Street in Eden Valley. The original Eden Valley Soo depot burned June 19, 1913 and this was built later that year as a replacement.

Freeport (GN) - The original location of this station was about a block east of 1st Avenue. According to the 1915 GN Valuation records, the station measured 19'x48' but the records did not list a build date. 

Richmond (GN) - This station was originally located on the east side of St. Francis Street. (What is this street called now?) The name of the station was changed in June 1909.

Sauk Center (GN) - This station was originally located on the NW side of Grove Lake Avenue. Two brothers bought the station and sawed it in half to reporpose each part on their respective properties. According to the 1915 GN Valuation records, the station measured 27'x100' and was built here in 1892.