HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
1886 Civil War Veteran's Block in Saint Cloud — Funeral Home Tenant, Third-Floor Apparitions, and Objects That Move on Their Own
18 5th Ave S, Saint Cloud, MN 56301
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Cost of dining or drinks at current tenant; building tours not separately ticketed.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Downtown commercial building; ground floor accessible. Upper floors via stairs.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1886 · Lincoln Assassination Witness as Building Patron · German-American Banking History · Masonic Lodge History · 31-Year Funeral Home Tenancy (1939–1970)
Daniel B. Searle arrived in Saint Cloud after the Civil War with a history that set him apart from most Minnesota settlers. A Union soldier present at Ford's Theatre in Washington on April 14, 1865, Searle witnessed the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln — a biographical fact documented on the building's Historical Marker Database entry. He went on to become a prominent civic figure in Stearns County, commissioning the five-story brick commercial block at 18 5th Ave S in downtown Saint Cloud in 1886.
The building's earliest tenants reflected Saint Cloud's German-American commercial community. A German-American bank operated on the ground floor, while upper floors housed a Masonic lodge hall, bringing a steady stream of local fraternal members to the building over multiple decades. The structure remained a fixture of downtown commerce through the early twentieth century.
The building's most significant occupant arrived in 1939 when the Colbert Funeral Home moved in and remained for thirty-one years, operating until 1970. The funeral home's three-decade tenure — during which the dead were embalmed, laid out, and mourned within the building's walls — is the anchor claim behind the paranormal accounts that followed. Workers and patrons in subsequent decades reported apparitions and mysteriously moving objects, with the third floor identified most consistently as the site of activity. The building later converted to restaurant and bar use in its lower floors and remains a functioning commercial property in downtown Saint Cloud.
Sources
The paranormal claims at the D.B. Searle Building center on the third floor and are most often attributed to the building's thirty-one-year tenure as the Colbert Funeral Home. Workers and patrons in subsequent decades report apparitions appearing in that area, and objects have been documented moving without apparent cause. The accounts describe movement-style phenomena — things repositioned between one check and the next — rather than any specific dramatic events.
The building's own history supplies ample material for those drawn to its reputation. The death-and-mourning function of a funeral home leaves a particular atmospheric imprint, and the D.B. Searle Building's configuration means the floors where the Colbert operation worked are directly above an active commercial space. Staff at current tenant businesses have noted the third floor's unusual atmosphere over the years.
D.B. Searle himself adds a secondary layer to the building's dark history: a man who stood inside Ford's Theatre the night Lincoln was shot, who then built a commercial block in Minnesota and filled it with civic life. The building carries that biography alongside its funeral home years, giving the paranormal accounts a deeper historical context than most claims of this type.
Notable Entities
The D.B. Searle Building operates as a restaurant and bar in its lower floors. The 1886 brick exterior bears the building's original character, and diners frequently note the third-floor area's unusual reputation among staff. No formal ghost tour is offered; the building is visited as part of a broader downtown Saint Cloud walk.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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