small town

Maple Lake is hosting their Grande Day St. Patrick's Day Parade Saturday, March 15, 2025. The Grande Day Parade is slated to begin at 1:30 p.m.

South Haven is a small town located in northwestern Wright County along Highway 55 between Kimball and Annandale. The town has a population of 187 and was platted in 1888. South Haven is in southside township and is 2 miles south of Fairhaven which likely contributed to the name of the town.

Each small town in Minnesota has a story and this is the story of Fairhaven. Fairhaven is a town south of St. Augusta on County Road 7 in the southeastern portion of Stearns County. As of the most recent census they have a population of 358 people.

Popple Creek is small community in Mayhew Lake Township in Benton County located along County Roads 3 and 4. Popple Creek was never incorporated but was settled in the 1890s.

The town of Lake Henry is located in western Stearns County just north of Paynesville. It has a population of 103 and is located along Highway 4. To tell the story of Lake Henry I was joined by longtime Lake Henry residents Jim and Sue Brick.

Waite Park is one of the fastest growing communities both commercially and residentially over the past 30 years in Central Minnesota. The town is named for Henry Chester Waite, a former State Representative and lawyer.

Buckman is a small town in southern Morrison County in Buckman township with a population of 307. It was established in 1869 and was named after one it's early settlers, Clarence B. Buckman.

Bowlus is a town of 279 people that was settled in the early 1900s, platted in 1907 and became incorporated in 1910. Bowlus has an operating post office since 1907, a lumberyard, meat market, hair salon, restaurant, gas station, liquor store, boutique, fire department, park with bike trail going through it, Legion, and Catholic Church.

Royalton is a small town in Central Minnesota between Rice and Little Falls along Highway 10 and the Platte River residing in both Morrison and Benton Counties with a population of 1,281. Most of Royalton is in Morrison County.

Luxemburg is a small town south of St. Cloud along Highway 15 located in the St. Augusta city limits. I talked with longtime Luxemburg residents Norb Fischer and Paul Koshiol.

In 1856 in Central Minnesota a fort was built north of what is now the town of Kimball. That fort and settlement was called Maine Prairie. In 1886 the railroad went through a location south of Maine Prairie where present day Kimball is now located.

Without the railroad there likely would be no Litchfield. Litchfield is a town of 6,624 people located in central Minnesota along highways 12 and 24. The earliest settlers in the area arrived in the 1850s and they formed the town of Forest City.