# St. Croix Boom *Logging boom company in the St. Croix Valley, 1856–1914.* The St. Croix Boom was a logging boom company in the St. Croix Valley. It operated above [[Stillwater]] from 1856 to 1914.[^1] The [[National Park Service]] calls it "the epicenter of the St. Croix Valley's logging industry."[^1] The project's at-issue record states that 15.5 billion board feet of logs passed through the boom in that period and that the last log went through on June 12, 1914.[^2] The project's Washington County package cites the Park Service article as its primary anchor. The package describes that article as a federal agency's account of "the county's dominant industry, start to finish."[^2] The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.[^3] ## What The company was chartered in 1851 by Wisconsin and [[Minnesota Territory]].[^1] In 1856 Isaac Staples, Martin Mower and other investors reorganized it and moved it above Stillwater.[^1] According to the Park Service, in the 1880s and 1890s "up to 200 different companies" put more than 300 million board feet of logs into the river each year.[^1] In 1889 a "Weyerhaeuser Syndicate" leased controlling interest in the company from Staples and Mower.[^1] ## When - 1851: chartered by Wisconsin and Minnesota Territory.[^1] - 1856: reorganized by Staples, Mower and other investors, and moved above Stillwater. Operations began.[^1] - 1889: the "Weyerhaeuser Syndicate" leased controlling interest from Staples and Mower.[^1] - June 12, 1914: the last log went through the boom, according to the at-issue record.[^2] - 1966: designated a National Historic Landmark.[^3] ## Where The 1856 reorganization moved the boom above Stillwater, in the St. Croix Valley.[^1] The Historical Marker Database carries a transcription of a marker for the St. Croix Boom Site.[^4] ## How many - Total throughput, 1856–1914: 15.5 billion board feet, per the at-issue record anchored to the Park Service article.[^2] Wikipedia gives a figure of "over 15.5 billion" board feet across 58 years.[^3] - Operating span: 1856 to 1914.[^1] - Companies putting logs into the river each year in the 1880s–1890s: up to 200.[^1] - Logs put into the river each year in the 1880s–1890s: more than 300 million board feet.[^1] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue record (AI-Washington-056) pairs two facts: the boom's total throughput of fifteen and a half billion board feet between 1856 and 1914, and its last log on June 12, 1914.[^2] The same row states that five months later, the man who had managed [[Frederick Weyerhaeuser]]'s local interests and part-owned the boom died by suicide in a St. Paul hotel.[^2] The row names its source kinds as biography and record. The pack does not include the biographical source for the death.[^2] ## Notes [^1]: National Park Service, *The St. Croix Boom* (undated) — 1851 charter by Wisconsin and Minnesota Territory; 1856 reorganization by Staples, Mower and others and move above Stillwater; operation 1856–1914; "the epicenter of the St. Croix Valley's logging industry"; up to 200 companies and more than 300 million board feet a year in the 1880s–1890s; 1889 Weyerhaeuser Syndicate lease. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/stcroixboom.htm [^2]: National Park Service, *The St. Croix Boom* (undated), as primary anchor of the Minnesota wiki at-issue record AI-Washington-056 (Washington package) — 15.5 billion board feet, 1856–1914; last log June 12, 1914. The row's statement about the manager's death rests on biography and record sources (en.wikipedia.org) that are not in this pack. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/stcroixboom.htm [^3]: Wikipedia, *St. Croix Boom Site* (undated) — over 15.5 billion board feet across 58 years; National Historic Landmark designation in 1966. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Croix_Boom_Site [^4]: Historical Marker Database, *St. Croix Boom Site* marker (undated) — marker text for the site. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=233571