[8] The town was completely evacuated to the relative safety of Richmond and St.

The town was subsequently rebuilt, this time with the addition of a wooden stockade built by the U.S.

[12] In the late 1980's, a series of sexual assaults on pre-teen and teenage boys occurred in Paynesville.

[14] Paynesville lies along the North Fork of the Crow River and Lake Koronis.

According to the United States Census Bureau, it has an area of 2.32 square miles (6.01 km2), all land.

35.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Freight rail service is provided by the Soo Line's Paynesville Subdivision.

Passenger rail service was formerly provided by the Great Northern Railway[17] and by the Soo Line's Winnipeger until 1970; since then the nearest active train station to Paynesville has been in St.

[18] One mile south of Paynesville, the 3014-acre[19] Lake Koronis offers some of the best fishing in the area, with an abundance of walleye, bass, and northern pike.

Aquatic invasive species found in the lake include starry stonewort and zebra mussels.

[20] About five miles east-southeast of Paynesville, the 1639-acre[19] Rice Lake also offers excellent walleye, bass, and northern pike fishing.