Staples, Minnesota: Lumbermen's Name, Railroad Town

Staples, Minnesota, was platted in 1889 as Staples Mill, a name that points to a family of Stillwater lumbermen and not to the railroad. By the time the WPA’s writers came through in the 1930s, though, the trains were what the town was known for.

Staples Mill, 1889

Warren Upham tells it in one long sentence in his 1920 dictionary of the state’s place names. Staples township was organized on January 5, 1882, and the town “on the Northern Pacific railway, founded in 1885, platted as a village called Staples Mill in June, 1889, and incorporated as a city in 1906,” along with the township, “commemorate Stillwater lumbermen named Staples, who had logging and manufacturing interests here.”

That “Mill” in the first village name is a good clue. Upham calls them lumbermen, not railroad men, and says their “logging and manufacturing interests” reached this far. Their name went on the village.

The family from Topsham, Maine

Upham names two of them. “Two prominent pioneer lumbermen of this family, coming to Stillwater in 1853-54 from Topsham, Maine, were Samuel Staples (b. 1805, d. 1887), and Isaac Staples (b. 1816, d. 1898).” Stillwater, on the St. Croix River, isn’t in Todd County at all, so the name you see on the signs came from out of town. Upham doesn’t say which Staples, if any one of them, the town was meant to honor, so this article doesn’t pick one either.

A division point on the Northern Pacific

The tracks were part of the story from the start: Upham describes the town founded in 1885 as being “on the Northern Pacific railway.” By 1938, the WPA writers’ guide to the state described Staples as “a division point on the Northern Pacific Ry.” The same guide adds that the town “claims to be the exact center of the State,” which is the town’s claim, not the guide’s.

You can see the result on the 1966 survey map. The tracks and yards run straight through the middle of town, with streets in pink on both sides. A lumber family’s name ended up on a railroad town.

Quick answers

Where does the name Staples, Minnesota, come from?

Stillwater lumbermen named Staples who had logging and manufacturing interests here, according to Upham (1920). He names Samuel and Isaac Staples as two prominent members of the family.

Was Staples named for a railroad official?

No. Upham ties the name to the Staples lumber family, and the first village plat of 1889 was called Staples Mill.

Is Staples the center of Minnesota?

The town claims to be. The Federal Writers’ Project’s state guide of 1938 reports it as the town’s claim and doesn’t confirm it.

Key dates

1. 1882January 5: Staples township is organized.
2. 1885The settlement on the Northern Pacific is founded.
3. 1889June: it is platted as a village called Staples Mill.
4. 1906Staples is incorporated as a city.

Getting there

Open Staples in Google Maps

• Map
• Directions
• Satellite
• Terrain

Opens in a new tab. The pin is the center of Staples in the USGS place-name record.

The closest airports, Amtrak stations and intercity bus stops, measured in a straight line from the center of Staples.

Airports

• Brainerd Lakes Regional (BRD) 32 mi 51 km
• St Cloud Sky Central (STC) St. Cloud 66 mi 106 km
• Minneapolis-St Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain (MSP) 127 mi 204 km

Amtrak trains

• Staples station (SPL) under 1 mi 0.3 km
• Detroit Lakes station (DLK) 59 mi 96 km

Intercity buses

• Jefferson Lines Staples under 1 mi 1 km

Distances are as the crow flies, not by road. We don't list schedules or fares because they change; check with the airline, Amtrak or the bus company before you go. Official data (FAA commercial service airports (2025), FAA airport locations, Amtrak stations and Intercity Bus Atlas) from the FAA and the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, checked Nov 6, 2026.

Historical Sources & References

• Warren Upham, Minnesota Geographic Names (1920), p. 546. Staples township organized January 5, 1882; the town on the Northern Pacific, founded in 1885, platted as Staples Mill in June 1889 and incorporated in 1906; the Stillwater lumbermen Samuel and Isaac Staples, from Topsham, Maine.
• Federal Writers’ Project, Minnesota: A State Guide (1938), p. 436. Staples as “a division point on the Northern Pacific Ry.” that “claims to be the exact center of the State.”
• GNIS feature 652547 (U.S. Geological Survey). The Geographic Names Information System entry for Staples, in Todd County: “Founded in 1885. Incorporated as a city in 1906.”