We’re celebrating with this stunning photograph of Stillwater and the St. Croix Valley that features two of Stillwater’s schools from the early 1900s, Central School and Stillwater High School.
Central School housed children in primary grades from 1869 to 1937. It had 12 rooms and featured modern steam heat. It was razed to make room for a new Junior High building which is now the location of Cub Foods Corporate offices.
Stillwater High School was built in 1887 and served the district as a high school until a fire in 1957 forced the relocation of older students to other district buildings while a new high school (the current Stillwater Middle School) was built.
Also, in the photograph, you can see the steeple of the Universalist Church, the Commander Elevator, Stillwater downtown businesses, and several log rafts heading to mills downriver.
The photo was taken from the dome of the Historic Courthouse by Frank T. Wilson in about 1908. It’s part of the Runk Historical Photo collection that you can view anytime the library is open in the St. Croix Collection Room. Several sources of information were used for this post including the Stillwater School District website, clippings from the Stillwater Gazette, and Washington County Historical Society.