Near Sleepy Eye in Brown County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Iberia
Iberia crossroads was named for a community in Ohio because many of the first settlers were from that state. Stark was the name of a Revolutionary War general of Massachusetts.
Eastern Yankees were in the majority of the earliest settlers in this section which was dedicated school land. A great future was anticipated for Iberia. By 1871 the Winona - St. Peter Railroad was building westward toward New Ulm, and it was expected that from there the line would pass through Iberia where a preliminary survey placed it. By fall though, the plans were changed and the tracks were laid to the north through the site of the present city of Sleepy Eye. As a consequence, the town plat for Iberia was never filed.
Up into the 1900’s the Iberia settlement was a useful, convenient trading center, with two blacksmiths, a general store, bootmaker, a merchandise-liquor store, saw mill, grist mill, and post office. The rural community was nicknamed “Brimstone Corners” because it was such a “lively little berg.” It had all the characteristics of a typical western borderland town: fights, murder, death by Indians, elopements, robberies, political conventions, celebrations, organizations, grasshoppers, scandals, epidemics, births, marriages and deaths.
For a time Iberia prospered but grew little. By the mid 1880’s its usefulness was fading. Today the business places, mills and school are gone. A few homes and the cemetery today are all that is left of what was once busy, little Iberia.
Brown County Historical Society - 1975   LK
Erected 1975 by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Kunkel and the Brown County Historical Society.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1866.
Location. 44° 14.356′ N, 94° 41.729′ W. Marker is near Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, in Brown County. Marker is at the intersection of 260th Avenue and 190th Street on 260th Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 26034 190th Street, Sleepy Eye MN 56085, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Dakota Reservation and the Leavenworth Road (approx. 3.3 miles away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 4.3 miles away); Chief Sleepy Eyes (approx. 4.3 miles away); Jackson Crossing (approx. 5.2 miles away); Leavenworth (approx. 5½ miles away); The Attack on the Brown Family (approx. 6½ miles away); Essig, Minnesota (approx. 7.4 miles away); Cobden (approx. 8.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sleepy Eye.
Also see . . . Historic Map Works. (Submitted on May 15, 2014.)
Credits. This page was last revised on November 21, 2020. It was originally submitted on May 15, 2014, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 713 times since then and 44 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on May 15, 2014, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.