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BHistory
History · St. Croix Falls

St. Croix Falls’ post office opened in 1867, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Thomas Henry Thompson House, the Cushing Land Agency Building and the St. Croix Falls Auditorium.

1867first post office
3on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How St. Croix Falls began

When was St. Croix Falls founded?

1867

The St. Croix Falls post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 2,208159 years

How historic is St. Croix Falls?

B

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first St. Croix Falls post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives St. Croix Falls’ History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Croix Falls is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of St. Croix Falls’ overall grade.
Founding era1867, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194018.2% of homes (±4.8) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register3 listings, 12.4 per 10,000 residents · typical WI town 3.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 64%
NewerOlder

Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so St. Croix Falls’ 12.4 sits above most of its state (78% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about St. Croix Falls’ 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 St. Croix Falls are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start St. Croix Falls’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how St. Croix Falls’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
The story

How St. Croix Falls came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of St. Croix Falls.

Read it all →

In the 1840s, the land that would become St. Croix Falls was indirectly settled by Nordic and Scandinavian Americans and German Americans. After the increase of logging and the founding of the Cushing Land Company, St. Croix Falls became incorporated in 1887. The logging industry became important in St. Croix Falls, attracting New England immigrants which started a chain reaction of cutting down vast amounts of white pine. They were sent down the St. Croix River and the Mississippi River. From the late 1890s on, the logging industry died down; the last log cut at the Saint Croix log mill was in 1914. This made St. Croix Falls a more agricultural town.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

St. Croix Falls, 1847 to 1923

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1847Born hereJames Breck Perkins is born here
  3. 1867Post officeThe Saint Croix Falls post office opens
  4. 1878Born hereHugh P. Baker is born here
  5. 1882BuiltThomas Henry Thompson House is built
  6. 1882BuiltCushing Land Agency Building is built
  7. 1883Born hereVernon A. Forbes is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1918BuiltSt. Croix Falls Auditorium is built
  10. 1923Born hereDonald L. Iverson is born here
By decade

St. Croix Falls, decade by decade

Today3 recent
NPS saint-croix-river-map-7-highway-70-landing2016NPS saint-croix-river-map-7-highway-70-landingMapWestern Terminus of the Ice Age Trail2009Western Terminus of the Ice Age TrailTaylors Falls2008Taylors Falls
On the National Register

3 historic places in St. Croix Falls

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Thomas Henry Thompson House
Thomas Henry Thompson House, built 1882Cushing Land Agency Building, built 1882St. Croix Falls Auditorium, built 1918
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Queen Anne1
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements1
Thomas Henry Thompson HouseItalianate · Built 1882
Cushing Land Agency BuildingQueen Anne · Built 1882
St. Croix Falls AuditoriumLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements · Built 1918

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in St. Croix Falls

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

See all →
James Breck PerkinsAmerican politician · b. 1847
H
Hugh P. BakerAmerican academic administrator · b. 1878
Vernon A. ForbesAmerican attorney and politician · b. 1883
D
Donald L. IversonAmerican politician 1923-1999 · b. 1923
D
Duke Tucker21st century American politician · b. 1970
Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint Croix Falls

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

Questions about St. Croix Falls’ history

What year was St. Croix Falls founded?

The St. Croix Falls post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does St. Croix Falls rank for history?

St. Croix Falls is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

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

Three places: the Thomas Henry Thompson House (listed 1984), the Cushing Land Agency Building (2005) and the St. Croix Falls Auditorium (2007).

How old are the homes in St. Croix Falls?

18% of St. Croix Falls’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.8 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1977.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.