On a hot August day in the early 1930s, photographer John Runk captured a familiar summer scene at Stillwater Bathing Beach. A handwritten note on the back of the photograph says it was taken on August 19, 1930. Stillwater Gazette newspaper coverage of the beach’s opening, however, shows that it opened as a public beach in 1931. Whatever the exact date, the photo captures the beach at the beginning of its years as a favorite gathering place for families across the St. Croix Valley.
The photograph shows a wide stretch of sand, a roped swimming area, a diving platform, and the beach house tucked into the bluff along the east shore of the St. Croix River. It was most likely taken from the newly opened Lift Bridge.
Many people remember the spot by different names. Over the years, it was known as Stillwater Bathing Beach, Legion Beach, and later Kolliner Park.
Although the beach was located on the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix River, directly across from downtown Stillwater, it became part of Stillwater’s park system in 1917. That year, the East Side Lumber Company gave the property to the City of Stillwater with the understanding that the bluffs would remain protected from commercial development and continue to be enjoyed by the public.
Turning the site into a public beach took a community effort. In the early 1930s, American Legion Post 48 raised more than $3,000 for the project, and the American Legion Auxiliary added another $500. Volunteers cleared away sawdust left behind from the lumber industry, spread fresh sand along the shoreline, and helped create a welcoming place for swimming and summer recreation.
The beach remained a popular destination for decades. By 1979, increasing traffic around the east end of the Lift Bridge, along with the growing popularity of other nearby beaches, brought its long run to an end.
This photograph is part of the John Runk Historical Photograph Collection in the St. Croix Collection Room at Stillwater Public Library. You can view it whenever the library is open. It’s also preserved in Collections Online through the Minnesota Historical Society. Information for the article came from the vertical files in the St. Croix Collection Room, articles in the Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub, and history volunteers at the library.