St. Joseph, Minnesota
St. Joseph is a city of 7,021 people in Stearns County, Minnesota, founded in 1854.
Why visit St. Joseph
Townapedia lists 4 museums and landmarks, 4 parks and trails, 22 places to eat, 2 places to stay and 1 attraction in and around town.
Highlights include First State Bank and Saint Benedict's Monastery.
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 81°F; January lows average 4°F, and about 57 inches of snow fall in a normal year.
Weather in St. Joseph
Forecast from the National Weather Service. Full forecast
About St. Joseph
St. Joseph or Saint Joseph is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 7,029 at the 2020 census. It is home to the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University.
From the Wikipedia article St. Joseph, Minnesota (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Things to do1
Museums and landmarks4
First State Bank
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places · 0.8 mi
Former bank building in the United States
Saint Benedict's Monastery
Monument and historic site · National Register of Historic Places · 0.8 mi
Benedectine monastery in St. Joseph, Minnesota
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Hill Museum & Manuscript Library
Museum · 4.5 mi
HMML is a museum and manuscript library located in Collegeville, Minnesota that holds one of the world’s largest archives of manuscript...
Parks, trails and playgrounds4
Restaurants and cafes22
Milk & Honey Ciders
Bar and pub · Local · 2.4 mi
11738 County Road 51, Saint Joseph
Tu-Th 16:00-21:00; Fr-Sa 12:00-21:00; Su 12:00-18:00
The Local Blend
Cafe · Coffee Shop, Sandwich, Bagel, Muffin, Cake, Pizza, Wine · 0.8 mi
19 West Minnesota Street, Saint Joseph
The Wandering Cow
Ice cream · 0.8 mi
14 College Avenue North, Saint Joseph
Mo-Su 14:00-21:00
10 more on the map.
History
Originally home to the native Dakota people until the signing of the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux in 1851, St. Joseph was laid out in 1855.
Writing in 1997, Jewish-American historian of America's religious architecture Marilyn J. Chiat described early settlement in the region, "Father Francis X. Pierz, a missionary to [Native Americans] in central Minnesota, published a series of articles in 1851 in German Catholic newspapers advocating Catholic settlement in central Minnesota. Large numbers of immigrants, mainly German, but also Slovenian and Polish, responded. Over 20 parishes where formed in what is now Stearns County, each centered on a church-oriented hamlet. As the farmers prospered, the small frame churches were replaced by more substantial buildings of brick or stone... Stearns County retains in its German character and is still home to one of the largest rural Catholic populations in Anglo-America."
St. Joseph was named by early German and Slovenian settlers after the patron saint of their newly erected log chapel.
From the History section of St. Joseph, Minnesota on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where to stay2
Churches and places of worship3
Church of St. Joseph-Catholic
Church · National Register of Historic Places · 0.8 mi
Shopping3
Gas and EV charging6
Schools, colleges and libraries23
Athlos Academy of Saint Cloud
School · 5.8 mi
3701 33Rd Street South, Saint Cloud
Katherine Johnson Education Center
School · 3.8 mi
713 Anderson Avenue North, Saint Cloud
Map of St. Joseph
68 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Climate by month
Monthly table
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21°F | 4°F | 0.8 in | 11.2 in |
| Feb | 26°F | 8°F | 0.9 in | 10.2 in |
| Mar | 39°F | 20°F | 1.7 in | 10.1 in |
| Apr | 54°F | 33°F | 2.7 in | 6.6 in |
| May | 67°F | 46°F | 4.0 in | 0.1 in |
| Jun | 77°F | 56°F | 4.6 in | 0.0 in |
| Jul | 81°F | 61°F | 3.9 in | 0.0 in |
| Aug | 78°F | 59°F | 4.1 in | 0.0 in |
| Sep | 70°F | 51°F | 3.0 in | 0.0 in |
| Oct | 56°F | 38°F | 2.8 in | 0.7 in |
| Nov | 39°F | 24°F | 1.6 in | 8.0 in |
| Dec | 26°F | 11°F | 1.0 in | 10.5 in |
U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 for Collegeville St John'S (4 mi away), NOAA NCEI.
People and cost of living
American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024, U.S. Census Bureau. Estimates have margins of error, larger for small towns.
Disaster history
Stearns County has had 7 federal disaster declarations since 2000, most often for severe storms.
- 2022-07-08: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding (Severe Storm)
- 2020-04-07: Covid-19 Pandemic (Biological)
- 2020-03-13: Covid-19 (Biological)
- 2013-07-25: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding (Severe Storm)
- 2011-07-28: Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes (Severe Storm)
- 2005-09-13: Hurricane Katrina Evacuation (Hurricane)
OpenFEMA disaster declarations summaries.
Getting there and nearby towns
Saint Cloud Regional Airport (STC) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 12 miles away.
- Sartell 6 mi northeast, about 9 min by car
- St. Cloud 7 mi southeast, about 11 min by car
- Rockville 7 mi south, about 11 min by car
- Sauk Rapids 8 mi east, about 12 min by car
- Cold Spring 10 mi southwest, about 15 min by car
- St. Augusta 10 mi southeast, about 15 min by car
- Albany 13 mi west, about 21 min by car
- Richmond 13 mi southwest, about 21 min by car
- Rice 14 mi north, about 22 min by car
- Clearwater 16 mi southeast, about 26 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Local news
Headlines from INDB, the NEMICO news database.
Reviews, tips and questions
Loading what members have shared...
Sources and licences
- NCES EDGE (Public domain): public schools
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (Public domain): climate by month
- OpenFEMA (Public domain): disaster declarations
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- U.S. Census Bureau (Public domain): population, income, housing, education, commute
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- St. Joseph, Minnesota buildings, Skvader, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Church of St. Joseph (St. Joseph, Minnesota) 1, Chipcity, CC BY-SA 3.0
- First State Bank (St. Joseph, Minnesota) 1, Chipcity, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Northern Lines Railway, St. Joseph, Minn, chief_huddleston, CC BY 2.0
- 2009-0522-MN-SaintBens, Bobak Ha'Eri, CC BY 3.0
- HMML-Renovated, Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, CC BY 3.0
- Church of Saint Joseph, Garret Jenkins, CC BY-SA 3.0
- First State Bank, Saint Joseph, Garret Jenkins, CC BY-SA 3.0
- First State Bank (St Joseph MN), McGhiever, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Church of St Joseph, McGhiever, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Sacred Heart Chapel, St Benedict's, McGhiever, CC BY-SA 4.0
- ISS040-E-98205 - View of Earth, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- ISS014-E-6896 - View of Nebraska, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain
- GraniteCityToolCurrentBuilding, Granitecitytool, CC BY-SA 3.0
- GraniteCityToolShowFloor, Granitecitytool, Attribution
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