Near Kimball in Stearns County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Maine Prairie Corners

Photographed by Richard Hawkins, November 18, 2025

1. Maine Prairie Corners Marker

Inscription.

Here in 1856 settlers from Maine established a community that grew into a vigorous pioneer village including three churches & stores, two lodge halls, blacksmith shop, cheese factory – all built near the site of a 2½-story tamarack fort used during the Sioux outbreak of 1862.

With the coming of the Soo Line in 1886, most buildings were moved to Kimball. The last to remain burned in 1919.

Stearns County Historical Society and
the Kimball Centennial Committee 1949

Erected 1949 by the Minnesota Department of Highways, Stearns County Historical Society and the Kimball Centennial Committee. (Marker Number SN-MPR-004.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles • Railroads & Streetcars • Settlements & Settlers • Wars, US Indian. A significant historical year for this entry is 1856.

Location. 45° 22.833′ N, 94° 16.041′ W. Marker is near Kimball, Minnesota, in Stearns County. It is on State Highway 15 south of County Road 8, on the left when traveling north. Marker is at a paved highway pull-off approximately 5 miles north of Kimball. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Kimball MN 55353, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Central Minnesota.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within

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11 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Fair Haven Fort (approx. 4.9 miles away); Luxemburg (approx. 5.2 miles away); Veterans Park (approx. 8.4 miles away); Assumption Chapel (AKA Grasshopper Chapel) (approx. 8.8 miles away); Exploring The Mississippi Headwaters (approx. 9.9 miles away); Schoolhouse (approx. 10.7 miles away); State Farm (approx. 10.7 miles away); Annandale World War I Memorial (approx. 10.7 miles away).

Also see . . . Minnesota Department of Transportation. Historic Roadside Development Structures Inventory. "The nine-foot-tall, 2 1/2 ton granite monument was a gift of the Cold Spring Granite Company. The text was written by Mrs. Clayton Greely of Kimball. Caesar Copeland of the Beim Farm installed the marker's foundation, and the Kimball Centennial Committee provided funding for the foundation and the dedication ceremonies. The marker was dedicated on Thanksgiving Day, 1949. The Kimball American Legion color guard opened the event and Glanville Smith, president of the Stearns County Historical Society, addressed the gathering..." (Submitted on December 14, 2013.)

Additional keywords. Maine Prairie Pioneers Monument

Photographed by K. Linzmeier, October 24, 2013

2. Maine Prairie Corners Marker

Photographed by K. Linzmeier, October 24, 2013

3. Maine Prairie Corners Marker

Maine Prairie Fort was located beyond (west of) the marker.

Photographed by Richard Hawkins, November 18, 2025

4. Maine Prairie Corners Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on November 21, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 14, 2013, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 2,243 times since then and 86 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on November 18, 2025, by Richard Hawkins of Phelan, California. 2, 3. submitted on December 14, 2013, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. 4. submitted on November 18, 2025, by Richard Hawkins of Phelan, California.