9666 St Croix Trail N
Stillwater, MN, USA

St. Croix Boom Company House and Barn

The St. Croix Boom Company House and Barn is a historic residence in Stillwater Township, Minnesota, United States, built circa 1885. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 for its local significance in the theme of industry. It was nominated as the only known standing building associated with the St. Croix Boom Company, which operated a log boom critical to Minnesota's logging industry from 1856 to 1914.


Description

The St. Croix Boom Company House and Barn is located directly across Minnesota State Highway 95 from the St. Croix Boom Site, two miles (3.2 km) north of the city of Stillwater. The house has two stories while the barn has one and a half. Both are sided with clapboard and sport decorative spindlework on their gables. The house has a one-story wraparound porch. Originally built on a simple rectangular plan, the house has been modified with additions to the south and west, plus a dormer on the west.


History

The house and barn were built around 1885 for W. Frank McGray, who served as the superintendent of the boom site for 34 years, from 1871 to 1905. McGray and his family had been living on a farm on the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix River until his employer built him this official residence on company property adjacent to the boom site. McGray purchased the house from the Boom Company in 1895 and continued to live in it from his retirement in 1905 until he sold the property in 1919.

McGray had worked for the Boom Company since its founding in 1856, and he reportedly sent the first log through on opening day. When the log boom closed on June 12, 1914, the 80-year-old retired superintendent was honored by being the one to send the last log through as well.

National Register of Historic Places - St. Croix Boom Company House and Barn

Statement of Significance:

The St. Croix Boom Company House was the home of W.F. (Frank) McGray, superintendent of the St. Croix Boom Company for 34 years. It is located adjacent to the St. Croix Boom Site which is a National Historic Landmark. Along with its barn, the house is the only; known extant building directly, associated with the Croix Boom Company.

The St. Croix Boom Company built a boom in 1856 two miles above Stillwater, Minnesota on the St. Croix River for the sorting and rafting of lumber cut by the valley's many lumbers companies. The St. Croix Boom Company closed in 1914 after 57 years of continuous operation. Frank McGray is reported to have sent the first log through the boom in 1856, and on June 12, 1914, it was he who hitched the last log to go through.

McGray entered the employ of the St. Croix Boom Company in 1856 and in 1871 was made superintendent or boom master. He lived on a farm across the river in Wisconsin until 1885 at which time appears that the company built a residence for him and his family on company property above the boom site. McGray retired from the company in 1905 at the age of 71. He had purchased his residence from the St. Croix Boom Company in 1895 and continued to live in it after his retirement until 1919 when he sold the property. Several families have owned the house since McGray sold it, the present owners having bought it in 1955.