Beginning in the 1840s, decades of milling and other industrial use resulted in great alteration to the Stillwater riverfront. Although many structures have been razed, in certain areas there remains an important historic archaeological record. The Stillwater South Main Street Archaeological District has been determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. It includes the Hersey & Bean Sawmill and Planning Mill sites, which were part of one of Stillwater’s major nineteenth-century lumber milling complexes.

At the northern end of the district, Slab Alley was a commercial and residential working class neighborhood dating from the height of the lumber boom prior to 1870; the dwellings were removed when TH 95 was constructed in 1934.

To learn more about this draft district, the resources in it, and other historical and architectural resources discovered during the St. Croix Crossing project, click here.