Giant Replica Runestone
Alexandria, Minnesota
At the former eastern entrance to Alexandria (before I-94 bypassed it) stands a hard-to-miss landmark: a giant granite runestone, 16 feet tall, erected by the Alexandria Kiwanis Club in 1951. It's a crowd-friendly, 18-ton, five-times-the-size replica of the runestone exhibited in the city museum, which was discovered nearby in 1898. We wish that all runestones really were this gigantic....
Supposedly carved in 1362, the original runestone is key to Alexandria's claim to be the "Birthplace of America." Tales of ancient Scandinavian maps of Minnesota (now lost), and blond-haired, blue-eyed Indians seen locally by early explorers are nice -- but the runestone is still here, and the city wanted everyone to have a chance to look at it even when the museum was closed. The giant replica is carved from real rock, not an imitation made of cement or fiberglass, which is especially impressive.