Marine on St. Croix is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 689 at the 2010 census. It was founded in 1839 as Marine Mills. The city was the site of the first commercial sawmill on the St. Croix River. A substantial portion of the city is listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places and by the state of Minnesota.
The St. Croix River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 169 miles (272 km) long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The lower 125 miles (201 km) of the river form the border between Wisconsin and Minnesota. The river is a National Scenic Riverway under the protection of the National Park Service. A hydroelectric plant at the Saint Croix Falls Dam supplies power to the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area.
The Stillwater Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge crossing the St. Croix River between Stillwater, Minnesota, and Houlton, Wisconsin. It formerly connected Minnesota State Highway 36 and Wisconsin Highway 64. Around 18,000 vehicles crossed the bridge daily. The new St. Croix Crossing bridge crossing the St. Croix river valley to the south of Stillwater replaced its purpose, having opened to highway traffic on August 2, 2017, leaving the Stillwater Lift Bridge to be preserved and to be converted to bicycle/pedestrian use.
Wild River State Park is a state park of Minnesota, United States, curving along 18 miles (29 km) of the St. Croix River. This long, narrow park is shaped somewhat like a sideways 'S', with development largely concentrated in the lower third. The remote upper sections flank the mouth of a tributary called the Sunrise River. The park is managed to provide quieter, more nature-oriented recreation as a counterpoint to the busier William O'Brien and Interstate State Parks downstream.
St. Croix State Park is a state park in Pine County, Minnesota, USA. The park follows the shore of the St. Croix River for 21 miles (34 km) and contains the last 7 miles (11 km) of the Kettle River. At 33,895 acres (13,717 ha) it is the largest Minnesota state park. It was developed as a Recreational Demonstration Area in the 1930s, and is one of the finest surviving properties of this type in the nation. 164 structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration survive, the largest collection of New Deal projects in Minnesota. As a historic district they were listed on the National Register of Historic Places and proclaimed a National Historic Landmark in 1997.
The St. Croix Boom Site is a historic and scenic wayside on the St. Croix River in Stillwater Township, Minnesota, United States. It commemorates the location of a critical log boom where, from 1856 to 1914, timber from upriver was sorted and stored before being dispatched to sawmills downstream. The site was developed as a roadside park along Minnesota State Highway 95 in the 1930s. In 1966 it was designated a National Historic Landmark for its national significance in the theme of industry. It was nominated for being the earliest, most important, and longest serving of the log storage and handling operations that supported Minnesota's major logging industry. Virtually no traces remain of the site's original buildings and structures.
The Captain Austin Jenks House is a historic house in Stillwater, Minnesota, United States, built in 1871. Austin Jenks was a prominent businessman and river pilot involved in timber rafting on the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for having local significance in the themes of architecture, industry, and transportation. It was nominated for its association with Jenks and the importance of water transportation to the region's foundational lumber industry.
The Marine Mill, established in 1839, was the first commercial sawmill in what became the U.S. state of Minnesota. Now in ruins, it is currently a historic site managed by the city of Marine on St. Croix in partnership with the Minnesota Historical Society. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Marine Mill Site in 1970 for having state-level significance in the themes of exploration/settlement, industry, and transportation. It was nominated for being the birthplace of the region's seminal industry—lumbering—and a major landing on its crucial transportation route, the St. Croix River. The site is also a contributing property to the Marine on St. Croix Historic District.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Minnesota. It is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The locations of National Register properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may be seen in an online map.
The Ivory McKusick House is a historic house in Stillwater, Minnesota, United States, completed in 1872 for Ivory McKusick (1827–1906). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for having local significance in the themes of architecture and commerce. It was nominated as a striking example of Second Empire architecture in the region and for its associations with a notable family in early Stillwater. McKusick had built his wealth via the lumber industry and government contracts during the Civil War. His older brother John had helped establish the first sawmill in the vicinity in 1843, named and platted the community that grew around it after his hometown in Maine, and served as its first mayor.
The Roscoe Hersey House is a historic house in Stillwater, Minnesota, United States, built 1879–1880. It was designed by architect George W. Orff in a mix of Eastlake and early Queen Anne style. Roscoe Hersey (?1841–1906) was a key figure in Stillwater's lumber and mercantile development, the son and local representative of Isaac Staples' Maine-based business partner Samuel F. Hersey. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for having local significance in the themes of architecture, commerce, and industry. It was nominated for its embodiment of the commercial success of the Hersey–Staples partnership, the ties between the St. Croix Valley and Bangor, Maine, and the peak of Stillwater's lumber industry.
Socrates Nelson was an American businessman, politician, and pioneer who served one term as a Minnesota state senator from 1859 to 1861. He was a general store owner, lumberman, and real estate speculator and was associated with numerous companies in the insurance and rail industries. He was involved in the establishment of the community of Stillwater, Minnesota and was an early member of the first Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge in Minnesota. He served on the University of Minnesota's first board of regents before being elected to the Minnesota Senate.
The William Sauntry House and Recreation Hall is a historic property in Stillwater, Minnesota, United States, consisting of a late-nineteenth-century house and a 1902 addition styled after a Moorish palace. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for its local significance in the themes of architecture and industry. It was nominated for its association with prosperous local lumberman William Sauntry (1845–1914) and for its fanciful recreation hall, one of Minnesota's best examples of a folly and a rare use of Moorish Revival architecture. Now in separate ownership, the recreation hall has been restored as a private home while the William Sauntry Mansion operates as a bed and breakfast.
Isaac Staples' Sawmill is a historic industrial property in Stillwater, Minnesota, United States, consisting of an 1850 stone powerhouse and a 1900 metal-clad factory. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as St. Croix Lumber Mills—Stillwater Manufacturing Company in 1982 for its local significance in the theme of industry. It was nominated because the powerhouse is the only surviving industrial building associated with Isaac Staples (1816–1898), a major figure in Minnesota's early commercial development. The property now operates as a shopping mall with upper level apartments.
The St. Croix Boom Company House and Barn is a historic residence in Stillwater Township, Minnesota, United States, built circa 1885. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 for its local significance in the theme of industry. It was nominated as the only known standing building associated with the St. Croix Boom Company, which operated a log boom critical to Minnesota's logging industry from 1856 to 1914.
Arcola Mills is a historic house in the unincorporated community of Arcola, Minnesota, United States. Built in 1847, it is considered the third-oldest and largest all-wood-frame house still standing in Minnesota. It was the home of brothers Martin and John Mower, who established one of the first sawmills on the St. Croix River and the community around it. The house and the remnants of the nearby mill were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 as the John and Martin Mower House and Arcola Mill Site for having local significance in the themes of architecture, exploration/settlement, and industry. The property was nominated as an "excellent example" of Greek Revival architecture and for its association with the region's early settlement and lumber industry. The property now operates as a non-profit event and education center.
The Warden's House Museum is a historic house museum in Stillwater, Minnesota, United States. From 1853 to 1914 it was the official residence for the wardens of what began as the Minnesota Territorial Prison and became the Minnesota State Prison upon statehood in 1858. The Washington County Historical Society has operated the house since 1941, making it the second-oldest house museum in Minnesota. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 as the Minnesota Territorial/State Prison Warden's House for its state-level significance in the themes of architecture and social history. It was nominated for being the only surviving structure of the prison's Minnesota Territory period and the chief remnant of its statehood years.
Saint Croix Falls Dam, also known as St. Croix Falls Dam, is a hydroelectric dam on the St. Croix River between St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin and Taylors Falls, Minnesota. The only dam on the St. Croix River, it is operated by Xcel Energy.
On June 13, 1886, a log jam developed in the St. Croix River, close to Taylors Falls, Minnesota, and St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. The river was used to transport large quantities of logs from the forests upstream to the sawmills, and log jams disrupted this business. The 1886 jam was described at the time by a local journalist as "the jammedest jam" he had encountered, and was very difficult to clear, with hundreds of men working for six weeks to clear it, eventually using steamboats and dynamite. The jam was also a major tourist attraction, with thousands of spectators every day. After the jam was broken up in July, cleanup work to remove the logs on the river banks continued until September.
The Pas Lumber Company was a forestry company that owned and operated several sawmills and logging operations in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia.
