Museums & Historical

500/502 1st Ave S

The Grand Opera House, also known as St. James Opera House, is a historic theatre building on Main Street. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009 for its local significance in the theme of entertainment/recreation. It was nominated for being the City’s principal performance venue from 1892 to 1921, bringing fine performing arts like theatre, music and comedy to a modest agricultural center, as well as hosting local events. St. James Opera House contains its auditorium on the upper floor, with retail space on the ground floor with a source of retail income.

• Queen Anne architectural style built by John S. Bumby
• Built in 1892
• Today has Encore Coffee Café and Collage St. James in retail spaces on lower floor

710 2nd Avenue S

The Watonwan County Court House is the seat of government for Watonwan County, which has been in continual use since it was completed in 1896. It was listed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1987 for having State-level significance in the themes of agricultural and political/government. It was nominated for its exemplary Romanesque Revival architecture, its status as one of Minnesota’s monumental Victorian courthouses and as a local landmark, and its long-standing service as a County Seat.

• Romanesque revival architectural style built by Otto Kleinschmidt
• Built in 1896

505 1st Ave S

The Princess Theater building in St. James was built between 1913 and 1915 by Harry Nelson, to show silent movies. The theater was built as a 600 seat theater with a full balcony. In 1973 the building was purchased by the City of St. James to be used as a Community Center. The floor was made level, and the building was remodeled to include a full kitchen, bathrooms, meeting room and office space. For about 10 years the movie theater portion of the historic building was closed. In the winter of 1983 the City reopened the Princess Theater, using the restored balcony as the theater with a seating capacity of 186 people. A “Save the Princess” committee was formed in the spring of 2012, and it raised the needed funds to purchase digital equipment and surround sound to keep the theater operational. The marquee was repainted and again lit with beautiful neon lights and the lobby was recently restored. The City also rebuilt an outdoor handicap accessible ramp to the theater in the fall of 2014.

Memorial Park
Levee Blvd.

The St. James Area Veteran’s Memorial was dedicated on August 22nd, 2015. This memorial is a lasting tribute to past, present, and future Veterans who served during peace time and conflicts. This memorial consists of pavers donated in honor of local veterans, two black granite benches and a Minnesota Monument framed by three flags.

• The site was donated by the City of St. James
• Donations can be mailed to Veteran’s Services at P.O. Box 132 in St. James.

10 miles north of St. James near La Salle, MN

Younger Brothers Park is a ¼-acre park located just south of LaSalle on the bank of the Watonwan River. The park has monuments indicating that the park is near the site of the capture of the historic Younger Brothers gang in 1876.

• The Watonwan County Historical Society displays original guns and other items that the Younger Brothers surrendered to the citizens who captured them.
• Each year the town of Madelia celebrates the capture of the infamous brothers by recreating the shootout at the site where it all took place.
• Read this article for more!

Directions from St. James: Take 1st Avenue S east out of town and follow it through the curve North and it will turn into Highway 27. After Highway 27 curves east, follow the signs to take the first right on T108. The park is on your left right after you cross the bridge.

United States Postal Service Building- 6 Armstrong Blvd S

Margaret Martin’s mural proposal for the St. James, Minnesota, post office showed Indians gathering wild rice, hunting fowl, and fishing, emphasizing the harmony between the Land of 10,000 Lakes and its earliest inhabitants. Martin took nine months to complete this work, which has hung in its original location at the post office since June 1940. In the mural, a woman uses sticks to harvest the rice from the stalks, while a man hunts birds with his bow and arrow and another prepares to spear a fish from the stream.