City of North St. Paul: A Brief History -

The City of North St. Paul, Minnesota is one of the oldest suburbs in the entire state of Minnesota. The city was initially named Castle, after its founder Henry A. Castle. Castle was characterized for his many diverse activities. He is known for his role as a soldier in the Civil War and later as a lawyer, politician, real estate and railroad developer, and author. Most importantly, however, Castle was a leader.

After serving in the Civil War as a captain of the 137th Illinois Volunteer Regiment, Castle relocated with his wife and seven children to Anoka and St. Cloud in Minnesota. For several years, Castle dabbled in his different interests such as a stove manufacturing business, politics, law, newspaper business, and eventually real estate. While in real estate, Henry Castle devoted all of his focus and resources to developing a planned manufacturing city. Before he began his endeavour in the real estate business, this jack-of-all-trades pioneer had been acquiring land in northeast St. Paul by Silver Lake. When the Wisconsin Central Railway Company finished construction of the their line across this piece of land, connecting it to the City of St. Paul, Castle began to implement his plan. In the year 1886, the city was officially platted and named “Castle” after the man who had devoted so much to its inception.

The city was later renamed to North St. Paul after Henry Castle and his associates formed the North St. Paul Land Company. Even with the railroad running through the city, North St. Paul has remained a small town with a tight-knit community. Between 1950 and 1960, the city experienced a population boom, with an increase of population of 100.6 percent. Since then, however, North St. Paul’s population numbers have returned to its consistent, steady growth, with a total 12,224 residents. Soon after the town’s establishment, residents built a snowman on the corner of 7th Avenue and Margaret Street in the downtown area in celebration of the community’s annual Snow-Daze event. Years later, residents decided to build a permanent snowman with a height of 44 feet and a weight of nearly 20 tons. The “Snowman” was officially adopted as the icon and logo of the city in the year 1972.

If you have any questions regarding the History of North St. Paul, or if you would like to sell or buy a house in the area, give Realtor David Olson (www.DavidOlsonRealEstate.com) a call at (952)314-9446. Thanks and have a great day!