Stearns County is situated just south of the geographic center of Minnesota, on the west side of the mighty Mississippi River. Established in 1855, a region virtually untouched by the white man, it could claim all the trappings of "civilization" in less than a generation. Drawing from over 180 photographs and postcards from both private and public collections, Lee Simpson explores the rise of European civilization in the county from the 1870s to the present. This book offers a unique glimpse into the people and places of Stearns County, and is a visual history of daily life in the county that emphasizes the experiences of the average citizen. Included are vintage photographs of St. Cloud, Fair Haven, Albany, Paynesville, Collegeville, Waite Park, Rockville, and St. Joseph that depict the growth of the downtown business districts, resorts, granite quarries, schools, and churches which provided the bedrock of community for each town or city. From its founding as an almost exclusive community of German Catholics, to its present as a region struggling with issues of diversity, the history of Stearns County offers all of us a glimpse of the American experience.