St. Croix Riverway Time and the River: A History of the Saint Croix

CHAPTER 4:
Up North: The Development of Recreation in the St. Croix Valley (continued)

Railroads Promote Tourism and the Resort Industry

While the visual fame of the St. Croix Valley spread throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century, the tourist business on the St. Croix River took off in the 1870s ironically with the arrival of the railroad. Unfortunately train travel ended the "Fashionable Tour" by steamboat up the Mississippi. Taking a steamboat for other than a day trip came to be seen as "old fogyish." Steamboat day trips, however, remained the most attractive and unique tourist attraction in the St. Croix Valley. Boat owners realized early on they could enhance their profits by offering not only regular transportation for residents and newcomers, but also offer pleasure excursions. Inexpensive fares encouraged the locals to take advantage of the opportunity for a day trip into the beauty of their river valley.

With connections to St. Paul, Milwaukee, and Chicago local steamboats enjoyed a fairly steady stream of passengers. The trains brought visitors to the steamboat landings; and after a trip upriver from Hudson or Stillwater to Taylors Falls, tourists made the return trip by train when railroad connections were made in 1880. Stillwater's Cornet Band added to the gaiety of these outings. Steamboat owners also made moonlight cruises available for the more romantically inclined. Excursions provided church, social, and work groups trips with a more relaxed form of social interchange. For example, in June 1875 firemen from Red Wing, "accompanied by their ladies" boarded the steamer James Means for a trip up to the Dalles. Not only did they enjoy the scenery, but joined the Stillwater fire department in some social recreation. "In the evening the boat laid at the levee several hours," related the Stillwater Lumberman, "and allowed the firemen an opportunity to be entertained by the chief and members of the Stillwater department." [40]

Those who chose to stay in "the charmingly old-fashioned" town of Taylors Falls found comfortable accommodations at the local hotel. There they were "gladly welcomed and hospitably entertained." The president of the town council, L.K. Stannard, gave welcome addresses to St. Paul excursionists. Others found lodging in towns down river before they began their return home by rail. [41]

In 1877, the St. Louis, Minneapolis & St. Paul Short Line distributed a pamphlet entitled, The Summer Resorts of Minnesota: Information for Invalids, Tourists and Sportsmen. Train travel was promoted as fast and safe as well as being furnished with all the modern and luxurious conveniences. "While the summer resort business in the Northwest may be said to be yet in its incipient stage," related the railroad company, "there is but little more to be desired in railway service than is already furnished by the favorite line known as the 'ST. LOUIS, MINNEAPOLIS & ST. PAUL SHORT LINE.'" They offered reduced fares for anyone who made connections from other cities in the country at St. Louis. "There are but few people who have passed the summer months in Minnesota who will not agree with us in saying that there is no country in the world which offers so much that is pleasant and attractive to the tourist as that included within the boundaries of Minnesota." One of the chief selling points for a vacation in Minnesota was the weather. "The summer breezes that sweep across our wide prairies and through our great forests, bearing the perfume of wild flowers and aromatic pines, are laden with a magical tonic which quickens the pulse, and imparts new vigor to the enfeebled frame," wrote the promoters. "All the surroundings of our rural homes exert an influence for good, and attract the invalid to unwonted exercise in the open air, which creates an appetite for substantial food, and strengthens the digestion." [42]

The railroads also put the towns along the St. Croix on the entertainment circuit. In 1877, Stillwater businessmen persuaded P. T. Barnum to bring his circus to town. Other circuses followed such as the PA. Older's Museum, Circus, and Menagerie, and the W.W. Coles' Great New York and New Orleans Circus, Menagerie, Museum, and Congress of Living Wonders. Wealthy lumbermen also courted popular entertainers of the nineteenth century, such as Jenny Lind, Ole Bull, Adeline Patti, as well as the culturally influential Chautauqua Meetings. [43]

New guidebooks catered to this new class of travelers. They continued to stress many of the same themes of the earlier period. "Romantic beauty, historical incidents and legendary lore contributed towards making the Valley of the St. Croix River not only very interesting to the tourist," wrote guidebook author William Dunne, "but exceedingly valuable to students of either events or nature. Here within an hour's ride of the two leading cities of Minnesota, is a miniature Hudson, excelling, in some features, that famous river of the East. Along its shores fierce Indian battles have been fought, and its fertile, picturesque valley contains attractive cascades and waterfalls that rival the renowned ‘Falls of Minnehaha.'" Throughout the guide, Dunne recounted the basic history of the St. Croix Valley of Indians, explorers, missionaries, fur traders, lumbermen, and settlers to stir the imagination and conjure ghosts of yesteryear. "We traveled past battle grounds and fishing nooks, past the old home of the deer and the moose, past where Poor Lo held full sway but a generation ago and we had enjoyed the day." Interestingly, once they were pushed aside, Indians were portrayed as romantic and exotic creatures rather than threatening savages. [44]

The guidebook also contained poetic descriptions of the landscape. "The sunlight stole through the embowering trees of the glen just enough to brighten into sparkling crystals the falling waters of Osceola Creek," wrote Dunne, ". . .a very beautiful gem of nature." Of the Dalles he wrote, "Shadows from jutting rocks and tall trees fall upon the water in strange contrast with the sun-brightened portions where the tree-topped rock walls of the Dalles are distinctly reflected in the seemingly quiet stream, yet, of quietness, ‘tis but the semblance born far below the glassy surface. Between these two walls the river flows and eddies with depth and force." His description of Devil's Chair was especially evocative, "From a height of eighty feet his Satanic Majesty could view the whole extent of the beautiful landscape. Upon the footstool of his chair he could rest his weary feet or stand and address his kindred spirits of the Northwest during his councils with them." Dunne tempted the adventurous spirit of his readers with the suggestion that there were still the possibilities of new sights to discover. "In the attractive glens and curious ravines along the sides of the St. Croix there are yet to be found cascades and other scenic beauties that will, in the near future be noticed and highly appreciated." [45]

One notable side attraction a mile and a half from Stillwater was Fairy Falls, "a quiet but pretty work of nature." In 1880, William Dunne described the descent of the falls. "The water, coursing along to the shelving ledge of rocks, dashed down, in an almost unbroken stream, to its bed below." Locals enjoyed it as a popular picnic spot. [46]

While trains brought visitors to the St. Croix, they also made it possible for tourists to venture away from the river. Many discovered the charm and beauty of the Chisago Lakes region on their return trip by train from Taylors Falls. Dunne noted, "The excursionists were pleasantly surprised to see such delightful scenery in the Chisago lake region, through which they passed." [47] The advantage of the lakes over the river was that they could be enjoyed throughout the summer, free from the sights and sounds of logs and crude lumbermen on the river. Although many Swedish immigrants farmed the area, the lakes themselves remained sparsely populated throughout the nineteenth century even though the banks were largely prairie. After 1868 when the St. Paul-Duluth railroad skirted the western portion of Chisago County, towns such as Center City, Lindstrom, Forest Lake in Washington County, and St. Elmo Lake, became summer meccas for vacationers from the Twin Cities. Trains made frequent stops at Forest Lake to refuel thus making it easy for visitors to attend to business in the city and return to the rejuvenating lakes region with regularity. Railroads were not just anxious to promote the resort industry. They also hoped people would decide to buy a permanent house along the route. Before there were any permanent structures, early lake visitors pitched tents. When a certain area proved its popularity, enterprising businessmen started to build resorts. Forest Lake, for instance, became a resort city complete with prominent hotels, such as the Marsh and the Euclid. Yet, tents remained popular among the less well to do. Tents also made it possible for large parties of friends, church groups, social clubs, or businessmen to enjoy the great outdoors together without the expenses incurred in resorts and hotels. [48]

Lake Elmo also emerged by the late 1870s as a premiere vacation spot. It was halfway between St. Paul and Stillwater and was promoted by the St. Paul and Sioux City railroad. Many of St. Paul's fashionable class enjoyed boating, picnicking, and dancing under the stars. [49] Dunne's guidebook described Lake Elmo as "A handsomely situated body of water, such a delightful place as we would expect to find in the undulating wooded district. . .Its rustic seats and shaded walks, its neat pavilions, its boating and fishing make it a popular excursion resort for societies and schools." Elmo Lodge was equipped with "every modern accommodation and in the highest sense ‘cares for' its guests." Its "up to the times" comforts attracted repeat guests. [50]

White Bear Lake north of the Twin Cities and equidistant from Stillwater attracted those cities' elites. Vacationers started coming to the lake as soon as a road was built in the early 1850s from St. Paul. These seekers after refreshing summer breezes arrived by horse or carriage in just two hours. In 1857, an elegant Greek revival hotel was built to accommodate the fashionable, and less pretentious lodges housed more modest clientele. By the Civil War White Bear Lake, straddling Washington and Ramsey Counties, was a popular resort welcoming holiday and weekend pleasure-seekers and sportsmen. Once the railroad came after the war, the twenty-minute train ride turned White Bear Lake into a summer home retreat. It is "one of the brightest gems in the circle of lakes surrounding St. Paul and Minneapolis," wrote the St.L, Minn. & St.P. promotional pamphlet. "White Bear is the oldest summer resort in the State, and consequently, is far advanced in many of the conveniences required by fashionable people who do not care to indulge in the wild and sometimes inconvenient modes of life found at our less developed watering places." [51] Even Mark Twain wrote about White Bear Lake in his Life on the Mississippi. "There are a dozen minor summer resorts around about St. Paul and Minneapolis," Twain related, "but White Bear Lake is the resort." [52] It possessed " the largest fleet of sail boats and yachts to be found in Minnesota," wrote Dunne. "On the evenings of the "Regatta" and ‘open air' concerts, White Bear Lake assumes the appearance of a gala night at Manhattan Beach, more than of what is generally expected at a suburban summer resort." [53] By 1885, Northwest Magazine enthusiastically endorsed White Bear Lake as a resort area. "White Bear has pavilions, club houses and pleasure boats galore. But it has never become noisy and Coney-Islandised," the magazine noted. "It remains today a place for rest and pleasure rather than rioting and boisterous sports. It is fashionable without being fashion-ridden; popular and populous without being crowded." [54]

In 1884, the resort industry reached Lindstrom when Ida Van Horn Elstrom opened her Lake View House on the peninsula between the two Lindstrom lakes. Trains deposited guests at the nearby train station. When Miss Elstrom married John W. Nelson, the newlyweds changed the name to the Lake View Hotel. When the hotel burned down in 1900, the couple opened the Villa Cape Horn resort on the lakefront west of their old establishment complete with a dancing pavilion. The resort thrived well into the 1920s.

After the Nelson's success, other resorts began to appear on the local lakes. Besides the usual resort businesses, the Chisago Lakes area also attracted nonprofit camps. In 1906, the Minneapolis YMCA opened Camp Icaghowan on the eastern shore of Green Lake near Chisago City. The name of the camp derived from a Chippewa expression that meant "growing in every way." It was an apt phrase for a camp dedicated to providing disadvantaged urban boys with a week or two of summer fun. The cost was a dollar a day. Charitable Minneapolis businessmen picked up the cost. Camp Icaghowan won a special place in the hearts of the boys who summered there. The original camp lasted until World War II. After the war, the men who spent their youth there, built a new Camp Icaghowan on the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix near Amery. [55]

By 1880, fishermen and campers had made the Chisago Lakes a well-established sportsmen's locale. "Camping out at the numerous lakes with which Stillwater is surrounded is a growing practice with our citizens," noted the Stillwater Lumberman. "The practice is a good one. It is not expensive, and as a means of promoting health none better will be found. . .There are no fashionable calls to make or receive, no elaborate dressing for company. Everything is free and unrestrained. The male members of the family usually go out on the evening train or drive out. . .until the morning calls them back to business." [56]

The typical resort of this period in the north woods catered to the patterns of social interaction of the elite. They operated on what was called the "American Plan" in a largely self-contained world. There was a main lodge, where all meals and social activities took place. Lodges were usually constructed of local materials, such as logs, with a large field stone fireplace as a centerpiece. Guests slept in simple cottages. Maintenance buildings, barns, an icehouse, a small farm, and a boathouse supplied all the basic necessities to run the resort. [57] The single, family-owned cottage did not generally start to appear on the lakes until the turn of the century.

The well-advertised Minnesota resorts may also have siphoned off many potential long-term visitors to the St. Croix Valley. The St. Croix was advertised to Twin City residents as simply a day trip. "In the brief period of a single day," wrote a railroad advertisement, "the appreciative ‘sight seer' can here enjoy a variety of scenery, perhaps unequaled in America — if the world." [58] Although praising the wonders of the St. Croix River, the St. Louis, Minneapolis, and St. Paul Short Line promotional pamphlet noted that fact that the St. Croix was a working river. In 1869, 270 steamboats plied the river between Prescott and Taylors Falls. The logging companies, especially, increased the number of boats on the river. In 1878, they employed eight steamboats for rafting and towing, in 1882 there were seventy-seven, and by 1891 that number increased to 130. "Ever present among the islands and along the low shores for several miles. . .are the evidences of the vast traffic in lumber that is carried on in this valley," the promoters wrote. "The thousands of logs that lie ‘hung up' on the shores, at which gangs of men are laboring, tugging and rolling, to get them afloat in the river: the miles of booms, the vast number of piles that are driven to prevent the logs from stranding. . .the dozens of steamers for town. . .and the numbers of men employed, all combine to form an array of business that is not seen in the ordinary routes of travel elsewhere in the west, and probably not in the world." The pamphlet promoted the Upper St. Croix more for sportsmen where outfitters and guides were ready to assist that type of traveler rather than cater to the fashionable. [59]

The St. Croix Valley also faced competition from the growth in recreation to the south. Between 1873 and 1893, southern Wisconsin also experienced its own tourist boom that attracted residents from Chicago and other southern climes. In 1869, Colonel Richard Dunbar claimed that the Waukesha mineral spring had cured him of diabetes. Dunbar proceeded to organize the Bethesda Mineral Spring Company that promoted Waukesha as the "Saratoga of the West." The Chicago and Northwestern Railroad serviced the town and soon Waukesha had thirty hotels and dozens of boarding houses that catered to summer visitors. Spas had become so popular during this period with the middle class that nearly every spring bubbling out of a limestone substrata was being promoted as a spa, such as Madison, Beaver Dam, Sparta, Palmyra, Beloit, and Appleton. [60]

The St. Croix Valley did not sit idly by while watching Minnesota and southern Wisconsin develop into resort destinations. In 1873, in anticipation of a boom in tourism Ebenezer Moore embarked on a plan to turn Osceola into the "Saratoga of the West," and invited the public to his St. Croix Mineral Springs. The springs were located two miles south of Osceola near Buttermilk Falls. Moore hoped both tourists and health seekers would flock to its "healing" waters. Before his vision was realized, however, Moore sold his interests in the springs to a partner from Eau Claire. In the spring of 1875 the new owners laid a foundation for a "mammoth hotel" aptly named the Riverside Hotel. "Messrs. Stephens, Williams & Fletcher, the proprietors of this property, are determined to make the springs a popular resort for both invalids and pleasure seekers," wrote the Lumberman. [61] "The location selected for the hotel is a delightful one, overlooking the river and affording a picturesque view of the surrounding country." The dining room seated two hundred guests, and the grounds were complete with a croquet course, a trout pound, a deer park, and a half-mile circular racetrack. A hydraulic pump brought spring water into all parts of the hotel. "It promises to become on the most attractive summer resorts in the Northwest," boasted the Lumberman. This dream, however, never materialized. Although medical men endorsed the healthfulness of the waters, tourists never patronized the hotel. The year 1873 was also one of a financial panic. By the middle of the decade eastern and Midwest railroads experienced labor turmoil. Higher rates and strikes tied up everyone's travel plans and financial hardship reached every part of the country that relied on rail service. In 1885, the under-used hotel burned down. [62] In 1903 another entrepreneur experimented with a health elixir called "Osce-Kola, which was a concoction of spring waters, fruit juices, celery, and cola. The mineral springs, however, did not sell in this version either. [63]

Although tourists from more distant places did not venture so far north or stray from Minnesota's lakes, this did not stop residents along the river from recognizing and enjoying the pleasurable opportunities of the St. Croix. In the mid-1870s Stillwater established a boat club, as did many other towns along the St. Croix and Upper Mississippi. Stillwater's club proved to be a formidable challenger. "The character of the lumber business transacted at Stillwater naturally brings into action the full muscular force of the operatives engaged therein," boasted the Lumberman. "Here we have men who are continuously in the boat and at the oars. . .[who] are required to operate against wind, current, and all contending influences." The Stillwater club was so successful at beating local comers; they decided to challenge the Red Wing team. "The case with which they gained each successive victory emboldened them to believe that they had but to enter their shell and take the money, prize, and championship from any club that might choose to contest their skill." Many excursionists from the area made the trip by steamboat to watch the races. The Red Wing Team, however, resoundingly defeated the Stillwater club. They and their supporters took their defeat in good humor and enjoyed the return river journey home. [64]

St. Paul residents continued to patronize the St. Croix River and the Dalles during the second half of the nineteenth century because it was so close. In June 1877, a group from the Twin Cities arrived in Stillwater "on the natty little steam yacht Lulu. . .and were highly pleased with the romantic scenery of Lake St. Croix." On their way to the Dalles passengers enjoyed "the witty sallies elicited by the demonstrations of the river men, who lustily cheered as we passed them, waving their hats and handkerchiefs, and tossing up their pikes." The yacht also had to maneuver its way among "the great quantity of floating logs in the stream." The Lulu then remained at Taylors Falls where it picked up passengers from the St. Paul train, took them to see the Dalles, and then returned them when the evening train departed for the Twin Cities

One way to pass the time on the long, slow steamboat trips was to shoot geese from the boiler deck, which entertained both passengers and crew. Captain O.F. Knapp, of the steamer Enterprise, first introduced the practice in the mid-1860s. The sport caught on and by the 1870s and 1880s parties chartered steamboats for these hunting expeditions. [65] Southern tourists were especially enamored with this unique form of hunting. "Frequent notice has been made in these columns," wrote the Stillwater Lumberman, "of the rare sport furnished on the St. Croix by hunting geese with a steamboat. The time has now arrived for the full enjoyment of this sport and it is daily being indulged in." The paper provided a colorful description of how the sport was done. "As soon as the boat was headed down the lake a bulkhead was constructed around the forward guards of the lower deck so that the hunters could, if they choose, shoot from that place unobserved. Screens were constructed of blankets and placed around the railing in front on the boiler deck for the same purpose. All these precautions are rendered necessary as a boat cannot get within gun shot if any person's body or head is visible to them." [66]

Figure 31. The Devil's Chair in the Dalles was just one of the picturesque sites that insured the establishment of the Interstate Park. From Outing Magazine, March, 1890.