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History · Clear Lake

Clear Lake’s post office opened in 1853, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

1853first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Clear Lake began

When was Clear Lake founded?

1853

The Clear Lake post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Benton (1855), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 641173 years
Founding year: the first Clear Lake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Clear Lake’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Clear Lake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Clear Lake’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clear Lake’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Clear Lake, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Clear Lake yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Clear Lake is a city in Sherburne County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 641 at the 2020 census. U.S. Highway 10 and Minnesota State Highway 24 are two of the main routes in Clear Lake. Clear Lake is 13 miles southeast of St. Cloud and 24 miles northwest of Elk River.

Its first post office opened in 1853. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 545 to 641 (+18%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Clear Lake, 1853 to 1856

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1853Post officeThe Clear Lake post office opens
  3. 1855Post officeThe Benton post office opens
  4. 1856Post officeThe Benton post office closes
By decade

Clear Lake, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Clear Lake MN McDonalds Meats2020Clear Lake MN McDonalds MeatsIcy Mississippi River, Clearwater2016Icy Mississippi River, ClearwaterCounty Road 8 and Sherco Generating Station, Xcel Energy, Sherburne County, Minnesota2016County Road 8 and Sherco Generating Station, Xcel Ene…Clear Lake Farm Sunset2016Clear Lake Farm Sunset
Famous people

Famous people close to Clear Lake

Nobody well known was born in Clear Lake itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Gig YoungAmerican actor · b. 1913
Joel GretschAmerican actor · b. 1963
June MarloweAmerican actress · b. 1903
A
Alise WilloughbyAmerican bicycle motocross rider · b. 1991
Joel PrzybillaAmerican basketball player · b. 1979
Dean BarkleyAmerican politician · b. 1950
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Clear Lake’s post office has been open since 1853. Another post office, Benton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Clear Lake
1853–today
Benton
1855–1856
18501940today
1cemetery inside Clear Lake
Saint Marcus

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Clear Lake’s history

What year was Clear Lake founded?

The Clear Lake post office opened in 1853, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.