Lyon County Museum
Green Valley was established when the Wilmar & Sioux Falls Railway laid tracks there in 1888. The Willmar and Sioux Falls Railway ran between Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Willmar, Minnesota. The railroad was built by E. A. Sherman and John M. Spicer of Willmar, under the direction of James J. Hill of the Great Northern Railway. Sherman and Spicer located, named, and platted all of the towns along the line for a distance of 149 miles. The line was sold to the Great Northern Railway on July 1, 1907.
In May, 1888, the announcement was made for the location and the name of the Green Valley station. However, the location of the station was made known the previous fall. According to The News Messenger of Lyon County on Nov. 11, 1887, “While we have not official authority for locating the stations in this county, we have sufficient locations as quite certainly decided upon: The next station, coming towards Marshall is somewhat in doubt, but will probably be near R