St. Cloud Historical Marker – St. Cloud MN

Description

The St. Cloud Historical Marker in St. Cloud MN is a site that was constructed in 1937, by the NYA, a sub-unit of the WPA. The site was designed by A. R. Nichols and is a historical marker that commemorates the first commercial granite quarry in Minnesota, opened by Breen and Young in 1868, that was very important for the growth of St. Cloud. It was built from granite stones from the quarries located nearby, with rough and pointed rocks, unlike other markers and monuments with their more formal designs. It was placed on the side of highway 10 just outside of St. Cloud and now has a parking lot and serves as roadside parking.

This marker was the first of many other roadside markers that would be built and was one of the first larger efforts to construct roadside development during the Great Depression. The marker, as stated on the marker itself, was erected by the North Start Granite Corp at an unknown cost. The site at which the marker is located is currently overgrown, but otherwise very much intact, and the marker itself is in a very stable condition.