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Lake Crystal in Blue Earth County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
 

Lake Crystal and the Railroad

 
 
Lake Crystal and the Railroad Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By K. Linzmeier, July 30, 2013
1. Lake Crystal and the Railroad Marker
Inscription. "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 & 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, 3 general stores, a hardware and tin shop, 4 or 5 saloons, a barrel factory, and several "very pretty residences." General Judson W. Bishop of St. Paul, 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 a 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.

Lake
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Crystal Area Historical Society
1982

 
Erected 1982 by the Lake Crystal Area Historical Society.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Railroads & StreetcarsSettlements & Settlers. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1869.
 
Location. 44° 6.462′ N, 94° 13.087′ W. Marker is in Lake Crystal, Minnesota, in Blue Earth County. Marker is on East Robinson Street east of North Main Street (County Highway 76), on the right when traveling east. Marker is at the Lake Crystal City Hall / Public Library. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 100 East Robinson Street, Lake Crystal MN 56055, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Welsh Churches (approx. 6.1 miles away); Granary (approx. 6˝ miles away); Seppman Mill (approx. 6˝ miles away); The Turning Point (approx. 6˝ miles away); Former Homestead of Robert & Frieda Ulmen (approx. 6.7 miles away); George M. Palmer (approx. 6.9 miles away); Minnesota State Parks (approx. 6.9 miles away); The First Mahkato Memorial Wacipi (approx. 9.6 miles away).
 
Also see . . .  Lake Crystal, Minnesota. Wikipedia entry. (Submitted on August 6, 2013.) 
 
Lake Crystal and the Railroad Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By K. Linzmeier, July 30, 2013
2. Lake Crystal and the Railroad Marker
south side of marker with duplicate text
Lake Crystal and the Railroad Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By K. Linzmeier, July 30, 2013
3. Lake Crystal and the Railroad Marker
Lake Crystal and the Railroad Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By K. Linzmeier, July 30, 2013
4. Lake Crystal and the Railroad Marker
Lake Crystal and the Railroad Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By K. Linzmeier, July 30, 2013
5. Lake Crystal and the Railroad Marker
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on August 6, 2013, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 771 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 6, 2013, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.

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Mar. 28, 2024