Liquor Store in Clear Lake, MN

Clear Lake began as a trading post around 1848, when John H. Stevenson — a native of Pennsylvania — is credited as the first European settler in the area. Through the 1850s, settlers from Pennsylvania and New England arrived, and many families migrated from St. Augusta by crossing the Mississippi River in search of more land. The town takes its name from a lake about two miles away on County Road 8.

The arrival of the railroad in 1866–1867 spurred the community’s growth. Alandson Potter, who came with the railroad, laid out the city and established a hotel and a train depot. The village was originally platted in 1856, but that plat was abandoned after Clear Lake was not selected as the seat of Sherburne County; the community was re-platted in 1879.

Clear Lake was officially incorporated in 1900 (some records cite 1890) with an estimated population of 176. During its peak years from about 1890 to 1940, the town supported general stores, a bank, an implement and car dealer, and even canning and pickle factories. Rooted in German and Scandinavian traditions, the community’s heritage endures through longtime institutions such as McDonald’s Meats, which has operated downtown since 1914.

Clear Lake is governed by a mayor and city council, with administrative operations run from City Hall. Office hours are Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Current officials and meeting agendas are posted on the official city website. Note that the City of Clear Lake is a separate entity from the surrounding Clear Lake Township.

Clear Lake’s economy features locally owned retail and service businesses along the Highway 10 corridor, with residents also employed in health care and social assistance, construction, and food service throughout the greater St. Cloud area. The city’s best-known business, McDonald’s Meats, has been a downtown fixture for more than a century.

Clear Lake has no college campus of its own. Most of the city is served by the St. Cloud Area School District (ISD 742), with Clearview Elementary serving kindergarten through grade five; a small portion falls within the Becker Public School District. Nearby higher education includes St. Cloud State University and St. Cloud Technical & Community College, both about 13 miles northwest in St. Cloud.

Clear Lake sits at the junction of U.S. Highway 10 and Minnesota State Highway 24, roughly 13 miles southeast of St. Cloud and along the historic BNSF rail corridor. The community is primarily automobile-oriented, with regional transit available through area providers.

Clear Lake’s culture is rooted in its small-town, century-old Main Street heritage and its German and Scandinavian traditions. Community life centers on local businesses, churches, and civic events, with regional arts and library resources close by in Becker and St. Cloud.

Set in the lakes-and-river country of Sherburne County, Clear Lake offers small-town green space plus outstanding outdoor recreation nearby, including the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge and the Mississippi River.