Although St. Croix county contains several cities and many flourishing villages, it is important principally as an agricultural locality, and its rich acres of dark clayey loam so well adapted to the raising of grass, grain and root crops, and its rolling surface admirably suited to the pasturage of stock have contributed not a little to the general prosperity of the state. It is one of the wealthiest agricultural counties of the Northwest, and poverty within its borders is almost unknown. The villages which were originally the sites of sawmills are now the shipping points for grain, vegetables, stock, fruit and dairy products, and a larger part of even the smallest hamlets have grain elevators, flouring mills, creameries and cheese factories. Although the lumber boom is now over and passed, the larger settlements all have lumber yards, and in several of the cities the milling of lumber still constitutes an important industry. The greater part of the county is now developed, few large tracts of wild or wood land remaining. Well kept roads bring the farms seemingly nearer to the villages, and the railroads which cross the county here and there place even the remotest places in close connection with the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis on one side and Superior and Duluth on the other. Telephone lines also form a network of communication throughout the county, and aside from the main lines many local lines have been established for the use of the various neighborhoods. The schools rank high, and this, together with the excellent climate, makes the county an ideal place for the bringing up of sturdy children. Churches point their steeples upward from every hamlet, and meeting halls where lectures and entertainments are given in the winter time show that the higher life of the community has not been forgotten.

The county as at present constituted contains twenty-one townships—Baldwin, organized in 1872; Cady, organized in 1870; Cylon, organized in 1859; Eau Galle, organized 1858; Emerald, organized in 1861; Erin, organized in 1858; Forest, organized in 1881; Glenwood, organized in 1885; Hudson, organized in 1849; Hammond, organized in 1856; Kinnickinnic, organized in 1857; Pleasant Valley, organized in 1851; Rush River, organized in 1851; Richmond, organized in 1857; Springfield, organized in 1860; Somerset, organized in 1856; St. Joseph, organized in 1858; Star Prairie, organized in 1856; Stanton, organized in 1870; Troy, organized in 1851, and Warren, organized in 1860. These townships form a parallelogram with slight irregularities on the east and west. Somerset, St. Joseph, Hudson and Troy lie along Lake St. Croix, rising for the most part in gentle, rounded bluffs from the water and rolling to the westward in rich farm land. Somerset, Star Prairie, Stanton, Cylon and Forest border on Polk county at the north; Forest, Glenwood, Springfield and Cady, along Dunn county on the east, and Cady, Eau Galle, Rush River, Pleasant Valley, Kinnickinnic and Troy, along Pierce county on the south, while Hammond, Erin, Emerald, Warren, Richmond and Baldwin form the center tiers. The eastern portions are comparatively level and were originally heavily wooded, forming some years ago a portion of the territory then known as the “Big Woods.” The early settlers for the most part settled in these woods and cleared and broke the land.

Nature has afforded excellent drainage and watering facilities and the soil is kept in the best condition the year around without the aid of artificial irrigation. The larger rivers are the St. Croix and its tributaries, Apple, Willow and Kinnickinnic on the east and Rush river on the west. Of these tributaries Apple river is the largest and in the early days was the scene of extensive logging operations. It rises in Polk county, where it is supplied by numerous lakes; enters St. Croix county and passes diagonally across the northwestern corner and empties into St. Croix lake, above Stillwater. This river passes through a deep gorge in the limestone rock a few miles above its mouth, falling in its passage over several ledges of rock, producing falls far famed for their wildness and grandeur. Kinnickinnic river, in the southern part of the county, is also noted for its beautiful scenery and for its waterfalls. It passes from St. Croix county into Pierce county and then uniting with its southern branch, flows into Lake St. Croix. Rush river rises in Eau Galle and turns, thence flowing into Lake Pepin. These streams are unfailing, owing to their supplies from numerous springs and small lakes. Several small lakes in different parts of the county are well supplied with fish. The Bass, Twin, Bell, Perch and Cedar lakes are fine little bodies of water and furnish desirable resorts for the tourist.

While the soil is deep, the substrata of limestone crops out in many places, and has been quarried to a more or less degree for building purposes. One of the picture places of the county, aside from the never failing beauty and picturesqueness of Lake St. Croix and its surroundings, is a remarkable formation in the southern part of the county in the Kinnickinnic valley. This picturesque spot is known as the Monument and consists of a ledge of pure white sandstone rock, nearly circular and rising to a height of about sixty feet. It stands on a natural elevation and thus forms a very conspicuous object. The base is forty or fifty feet wide and the summit is turret shaped, about fifteen feet wide. The part upon which the turret rests is dome shaped, being worn into deep furrows by the rains of many ages. Years ago a solitary tree grew upon the summit, but after a brave fight succumbed to the elements. The Monument itself is being gradually worn away by the action of wind and rain and weather.

Although there are in the county many new settlers who have been attracted by the wealth of the valley and who have even after short residence here already become loyal sons of the county, the residents of the county are for the most part ones whose fathers and grandfathers settled here in the early days, a few of the old pioneers themselves still remaining to tell the story of the hardships endured in paving the way for the present prosperity. The sons of the county are out in the world, making a success of nearly every vocation in life, some of them having attained world-wide fame, but for the most part there have always been one or more sons who have remained upon the old farms with their parents and taken possession of them upon the latter’s death, and in the majority of cases the farms are still owned by the descendants of those who first pre-empted the land or bought it of the government. The people are a sturdy, honest and hard-working race, ones who know what hardships are, and who because of this knowledge all the more appreciate the benefits of modern conveniences. The people believe in education and the farmers of the county are every day making sacrifices that their children may be kept in school and thus acquire a good education. In nationality the Americans from the east, the Irish, the Norwegians, Swedes, Hollanders, Danes and Germans predominate. There is also a sprinkling of English and French with a few Swiss.

[…] The real organization of St. Croix county as a county dates from January 9, 1840, when Joseph R. Brown succeeded in getting the measure through the legislature, of which he was a member, sitting as a delegate from the northern part of Crawford county. It is with this organization that the real history of the St. Croix Valley starts.

The act was to take effect August 1 of the same year, and designated the borders of the vast territory which was to be included within the county limits. The county as designated embraced a part of Pepin, Dunn and Chippewa counties, and Bayfield, Douglas, Burnett, Barron, Polk and Pierce counties, as well as a part of Minnesota, and formed the whole western boundary of the territory, from what was then called Porcupine river, on Lake Pepin, on a line running west, and on the north to Montreal river, and from the Montreal river west into Minnesota.

[…]

Following is the total acreage of various crops raised in St. Croix county in 1908: Wheat, 2,118; corn, 22,698; oats, 74,560; barley, 18,455; rye, 5,086; flaxseed, 3,048½; potatoes, 2,575½; sugar beets, 48; other crops, 172; apples, 7¾ acres, with 1,881 bearing trees; raspberries, 71⅛; strawberries, 34¼; currents, 4; flax, 181; tobacco, 15; hay, 53,883; growing timber, 5,446. There are in the county 14,803 milch cows, value, $307,885; 15,474 other cattle, valued at $163,265; 7,623 horses, valued at $491,573; 13,083 sheep and lambs, valued at $38,523; 6,222 swine, four months and older, valued at $33,497.

The territorial legislature of Wisconsin, in session at Madison, Wisconsin, January 9th, 1840, passed an act to take effect August 1st, of the same year, wherein all of the territory of Wisconsin, lying west of a line commencing at the mouth of the Porcupine river on Lake Pepin, thence up said river to its first fork; thence on a direct line to the Meadow fork of Red Cedar river; thence up said river to Long Lake; thence along the canoe route to Lac Courte d’ Orielle; [sic] thence to the nearest point on the Montreal river; thence down said river to Lake Superior; thence north to the United States boundary line, was established a separate county, named and styled the county of St. Croix.

[…]

In 1845 St. Croix county was reduced in size by setting off the county of LaPointe.

The remaining territory of St. Croix county was bounded as follows: Beginning at the mouth of Porcupine river, passing up said river to its first forks, thence to Meadow fork of Red Cedar river, thence up that river to Lac Courte d’Orielle, thence to Yellow Lake, thence to the mouth of Mud river, thence down the Mississippi river to the point of starting, including an area of about eleven thousand square miles. The population of the entire district was estimated at one thousand five hundred, St. Croix Falls being the most important town.

In 1846, congress passed an act permitting the territory of Wisconsin to become a state, providing the people would adopt a constitution and accept certain boundary lines, which boundary on the west was formed by a line, running directly south from the rapids of the St. Louis river to the main branch of the St. Croix river, thence down the main channel of the stream to the Mississippi. By this act a large portion of St. Croix county was left unorganized.

[…]

The meanderings of the river leaves [sic] a fraction of townships 29, 30 and 31 on the east side of the lake, which gives the county about 850,000 acres of land. The general features of the county are the same as other counties bordering on the lake. The bluffs along the lake are irregular and broken, and present some fine, romantic scenery, with here and there a river or creek flowing from the interior down through deep ravines, shaded by heavy foliage on their entrance to the lake, presenting some most beautifully arranged views, while at other points the landscape slopes more gently down to the water’s edge. From the river eastward the country is broken and somewhat hilly, while in the eastern part it becomes more level. In the central portions are rolling prairies on which are opened some very fine farms. The eastern tier of townships were formerly covered with a heavy growth of timber, and was known as the Big Woods, extending through the county north and south. Tire timber is composed of walnut, butternut, and red, black and white oaks, and maple, with some white pine in the northeast.

The soil is mostly of a clayey loam. In some portions, however, it becomes more sandy, and well adapted for all kinds of grain. Some fine qualities of lime and sandstone crop out from the hills in different parts of the county.

The drainage of the county is fine. Numerous rivers and creeks, having their rise in the north and east flow across the county and empty into the lake. Apple river, the largest in the county, has its rise in Polk county, enters St. Croix in section one of Star Prairie township, passes diagonally south-west across the township, enters Somerset township from section thirty-one, makes a long sweep to the north then to the south and enters the Lake St. Croix between Hudson and Osceola. Willow river, the next in size, has its rise in Cylon township in the north-east, extends through the south-east corner of Stanton township, thence through the north of Erin Prairie, thence into Richmond, south-west, and enters the lake between North and South Hudson. Hay river has its rise in Emerald and Springfield townships, extends toward the south-east and enters the Red Cedar river in Dunn county. Kinnickinnic river in the south has its rise in Warren and Pleasant Valley townships, flows south-west and enters Lake St. Croix from Pierce county. Rush river rises in Rush River and Eau Galle townships, and flows south into Lake Pepin. These streams, having their supplies from springs and small lakes, have an abundance of water, which flows rapidly along, thereby furnishing good powers for manufactories, mills, etc. Several small lakes in different parts of the county are well supplied with fish. The Bass, Twin, Bell Perch and Cedar lakes are fine little bodies of water, and furnish fine resorts for the tourist.

The village of River Falls as we find it to day [sic], located on the banks of the beautiful Kinnickinnic has a population of about fifteen hundred inhabitants. The line between St. Croix and Pierce counties divides the village plat, and one-third lies in St. Croix county. The river goes dashing through the central part of the village with a current so swift that the frosts of winter are unable to check its course or congeal its surface. On its banks are located four flour mills and one saw and feed mill, which are propelled night and day by the power gathered from its water. Quite an extensive merchant flouring business is done, and the flour shipped by rail to distant markets. Various religious societies have their pleasant places of worship. The different secret societies have their organizations and comfortable lodge rooms. The public school building, located on the west side, is a large imposing structure of brick with all the late improvements, which will accommodate nearly three hundred pupils.

By an act of the legislature approved March 18, 1885, a city charter was granted to the citizens of the territory now embraced within the limits of the city of River Falls. The organization was effected April 7, 1885, by the election of city officers; those then chosen being A. D. Andrews, mayor; W. W. Wadsworth, S. M. Rosenquist, and Leonard Stiles, aldermen; E. H. Daniels, assessor; G. E. Pratt, treasurer and R. R. Bourne, justice of the peace at large.