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History · Marine on St. Croix

Marine on St. Croix’s post office opened in 1917, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 60 buildings. Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1880.

1917first post office
2on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Marine on St. Croix began

When was Marine on St. Croix founded?

1917

The Marine on St. Croix post office opened in 1917, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Marine Mills (1848), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 460 in 18802020 census: 664109 years
Founding year: the first Marine on St. Croix post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Marine on St. Croix’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Marine on St. Croix are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1890 and 1930, then more than doubled.A historic districtThe Marine on St. Croix Historic District takes in 60 historic buildings.Old housesHalf of Marine on St. Croix’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Marine on St. Croix’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Marine on St. Croix’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Marine on St. Croix, census by census

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020679 in 1890Low: 297

Lost half of its people between 1890 and 1930, then more than doubled.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Marine on St. Croix’s Wikipedia page.

On the National Register

2 listings protect 60 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
60
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Marine Mill Site
Marine Mill SiteMarine on St. Croix Historic District
DistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Italianate1
Swedish vernacular1
Marine Mill SiteSite
Marine on St. Croix Historic DistrictGreek Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Marine on St. Croix came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Marine on St. Croix.

Read it all →

Marine on St. Croix was founded in 1839 as Marine Mills. The city was the site of the first commercial sawmill on the St. Croix River. The sawmill was built by Illinois lumbermen David Hone and Lewis Judd, who saw the opportunity to cut the St. Croix River valley's abundant white pine. They named the mill after their hometown of Marine, Illinois. The mill began operation in August 1839, making it the first commercial sawmill within Minnesota. It was first powered by water and then by steam, and it operated through 1895. Over 197,000,000 board feet (460,000 m3) of lumber was milled through this sawmill. Although the frame buildings were demolished and the sawmill equipment was sold, footings of the buildings are still visible. The Marine Mill site is now a historic site operated by the Minnesota Historical Society.

ChaptersMarine on St. Croix Historic District

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Marine on St. Croix, 1848 to 2010

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1848Post officeThe Marine Mills post office opens
  3. 1870Born hereEllen Torelle Nagler is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1917Post officeThe Marine Mills post office closes
  6. 1917Post officeThe Marine On Saint Croix post office opens
  7. 1943Born hereButch Thompson is born here
  8. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 21st century
  10. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 689
By decade

Marine on St. Croix, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Samuel Burkleo House2015Samuel Burkleo HouseMarine on St Croix Village Hall2015Marine on St Croix Village HallMarine Township Hall2015Marine Township HallMarine Mill historical marker2015Marine Mill historical markerO'Brien Observatory2013O'Brien ObservatoryMarineMill2008MarineMill
On the map

Marine on St. Croix on the map, 1948 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Marine on St. Croix. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Marine on St. Croix on the 1948 USGS mapMarine on St. Croix on the 1955 USGS mapMarine on St. Croix on the 1967 USGS mapMarine on St. Croix on the 1993 USGS map1948Stillwater sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Marine on St. Croix.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Marine on St. Croix

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Butch ThompsonAmerican musician · b. 1943
E
Ellen Torelle NaglerAmerican biologist, author, lecturer · b. 1870
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Another post office, Marine Mills, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Marine Mills
1848–1917
Marine On Saint Croix
1917–today
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Marine on Saint Croix
1cemetery inside Marine on St. Croix
Oakland

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

May Township2 historic placesBScandia3 historic placesB

Questions about Marine on St. Croix’s history

What year was Marine on St. Croix founded?

The Marine on St. Croix post office opened in 1917, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Marine on St. Croix?

Two places: the Marine Mill Site (listed 1970) and the Marine on St. Croix Historic District (1974).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.