St. Croix Boom Site - Stillwater, MN
Posted by: 
FSU*Noles
N 45° 05.054 W 092° 47.206
15T E 516781 N 4992329
This is the St. Croix Boom Site, located on the St. Croix River upstream of Stillwater, MN - listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Site #66000407.
Waymark Code: WM414D
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 06/21/2008
Views: 84
The St. Croix Boom Site was founded by Stillwater lumber barons in 1856 after the demise of the original St. Croix Boom Company, which had operated a boom further upstream near Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota. Timber harvested upstream was branded with the logo of the company that had harvested it. The logs were floated down to the boom, where they were sorted by the brands and delivered to the sawmills in Stillwater.
The St. Croix Boom was a very profitable and successful enterprise...during the 1870s, logs were frequently backed up for 15 miles above the boom during mid-summer. The boom site was operated until 1914, by which time all the surrounding river bank area were denuded of trees. The site was forgotten and was rediscovered later by a National Park Service survey to identify historic sites along the St. Croix River, in preparation for its designation as a National Scenic Waterway. By 1975, the area had been reforested.
The Boom Site is now a popular destination on the St. Croix. There is a wayside rest with restrooms and a parking area on top of the bluff, with stairs down to a beach at the site. PLEASE NOTE: The Wikipedia article states that the marker is destroyed and the wayside rest is closed. Their pictures are from October 2005, and the information is out of date...my pictures were taken yesterday on June 20, 2008 and not only is the historical marker back and fully restored, but the wayside rest is definitely open and the site is fully accessible to the public.
Source: modified from Wikipedia
Street address:
3 mi. N of Stillwater on the St. Croix River
Stillwater, MN USA
County / Borough / Parish: Washington
Year listed: 1966
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Industry
Periods of significance: 1825-1849, 1850-1874, 1875-1899, 1900-1924
Historic function: Industry/Processing/Extraction
Current function: Park
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Privately owned?: Not Listed
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.