benton county history

Why is it that Sauk Rapids is only on one side of the Mississippi River when its neighbors Sartell and St. Cloud have land on both sides?

Way back in the early days of Benton County, before there was a county fair, there were Market Days pretty much in every community and they were wildly popular.

Your local historical society is a great place to preserve old artifacts and facts from our past, but sometimes they are called on to do a little detective work too.

Back in the 1920s Benton County had a pretty famous resident - a dog named Nero.

It's now a home for eagles, but for decades the island in the Mississippi River below the Bridge of Hope on Highway 15 was home to people.

Municipal Park along the Mississippi River on the north end of Sauk Rapids is a very popular park. However, at one point that was a completely different townsite.

You can't call Benton City a ghost town, because hundreds of people still live there, but it is definitely a forgotten city for most of us.

Sauk Rapids is marking the 136th anniversary of the deadly tornado that devastated the town. The storm happened at about 4:00 p.m. on April 14th, 1886.

Over 100 years ago a little country store popped up in rural Benton County and the humble beginnings of the town of "Jakeville" began.

For a short time in the middle of Benton County's Watab Township there used to be a town by the same name. Watab was built at the same time as Sauk Rapids and both were incorporated in 1854.