A steeply pitched roof, arched windows, and decorated bargeboards mark the telltale signs of Gothic Revival architecture. This unique form of architecture was never as popular as the Italianate or Greek Revival styles in St. Croix County, but we do hold some of the most beautiful examples. Gothic architecture is most
Local author, Kristina Boucher, gives insight on her recent publication, “Lost Farms of the St. Croix Valley.” “Lost Farms of the St. Croix Valley” is a local historic publication set in the St. Croix River Valley. My book aims to explore the region’s agricultural history and further analyze why
St. Croix County Historical Society seeks volunteers for the Annual 8th Grade Hudson History Tour on Friday, April 28. The history tour includes a walking tour for students in the morning, followed by history booths and activity at Lakefront Park in the afternoon. The annual history tour is a great
Alfred Goss, a prominent banker and businessman, came to Hudson in the late 1850s. He was an officer of the First National Bank which was organized 1863. In 1870 the Hudson Savings Bank was organized with Alfred Goss as its president. Mr. Goss also invested in the construction of downtown
In the late 1800s and early 1900s a now illegal practice was once quite common – requiring capable institutionalized patients to work on asylum grounds. St. Croix County was not foreign to this idea; the St. Croix County Asylum operated a 667 acre farm that was run by its patients.
Orson Squire Fowler: A man renowned in the Victorian era for his wide range of expertise including studies in phrenology, architecture, and even more surprising for the era, sex manuals. Fowler’s ideas fit perfectly with the Victorian era’s culture of reform and individual betterment. Buried in an unmarked grave in
#1. Old Hudson Toll Bridge The Hudson Toll Bridge, accessed in Lakefront Park, once connected Wisconsin and Minnesota. The needed bridge was not without its share of controversy, especially from ferry boat operators. In about 1910 a Bridge Boosters organization was formed to promote bridge the project. The St. Croix
St. Croix County in 1840 was over ten times larger than it is today. The county used to encompass as far south as Prescott and as far north as Canada. Early French explorers, traders, and missionaries traveled throughout the region in as early as the 1600s. They interacted with
That’s right – the plaster doctor of Somerset, Wisconsin, a self-described “doctor” who treated patients without a license between 1905 and 1908. John Till allegedly cured hundreds of people with various ailments – ranging from cancer to corns, all with his handy plaster. Of course not without the help of
If you’ve never heard the story, you may be wondering what a “Gretna Green” is in the first place. Gretna Green is a small town in Scotland that at one point was along a major road that connected England with Scotland. This prime location would serve a very significant purpose.