Lake Crystal and the Railroad Historical Marker – Lake Crystal, MN - Minnesota Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

This historical marker is located in downtown Lake Crystal. The text reads:

“Lake Crystal and the Railroad. ‘Who says we cannot build railroads in the winter?’ asked the Mankato Weekly Union on December 10, 1869, in an article announcing that the tracks of the St. Paul and Sioux City Railroad had reached the new town of Lake Crystal.

“The decision of the railroad late in 1868 to locate its Sioux City line from Mankato past Crystal Lake led directly to the founding of the town itself. By May of 1869 railroad surveyors were engaged in planning the townsite, which embraced 40 acres of the William R. Robinson farm, about 60 acres of the L.O. Hunt farm, and some lands owned by the railroad company. When the tracks reached it in December, the town boasted about 40 buildings, including a large hotel, a two-story schoolhouse, three general stores, a hardware and tin shop, 4 or 5 saloons, a barrel factory, and several ‘very pretty residences.’ General Judson W. Bishop, the engineer of the railroad survey, gave the town its name – Lake Crystal.

“Approaching the village along the west shore of Crystal Lake, the first locomotive traveled southwestward through Marston Park to the depot area near the corner of Main and Humphrey streets. In 1905 the depot was moved from the heart of the business district to the southeast shore of Lily Lake where the railroad trackage had been relocated.”

This marker was erected in 1982 by the Lake Crystal Area Historical Society.

Marker Type:: City

Visit Instructions:
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