Editing Stillwater, Minnesota (section)

==History==
[[File:Stillwater panoramic 1870.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A panoramic sketch of Stillwater drawn by Albert Ruger in 1870.]]
In the 1830s, European Americans were pressing west into this territory. The [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. government]] tried to arrange for their settlement in Native American lands, and on July 29 and September 29, 1837, it signed treaties with the local Ojibwe and Dakota nations to allow such settlement in the St. Croix Valley.

The settlement was founded on October 26, 1843, when four partners formed the Stillwater Lumber Company.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Folsom |first=William H.C. |title=Fifty Years in the Northwest |publisher=Pioneer Press Company |year=1888 |pages=38–39}}</ref> Settlers were drawn by the area's abundant lumber and river traffic resulting from the industry. This was one of Minnesota's oldest towns, preceding [[Minneapolis]] by several years. Stillwater was officially incorporated as a city on March 4, 1854 (the same day as [[Saint Paul, Minnesota|Saint Paul]]).{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Stillwater is often called the "birthplace of Minnesota".<ref name=":1">{{cite web |url=http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/55/v55i06p267-279.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222074032/http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/55/v55i06p267-279.pdf |archive-date=2012-02-22 |url-status=live |title=The birth of Minnesota |date=1997 |website=mnhs.org |access-date=January 26, 2017}}</ref> In 1848, a territorial convention that began the process of establishing Minnesota as a state was held in Stillwater, at the corner of Myrtle and Main streets. Originally part of the Wisconsin Territory, Minnesota officially became a separate territory in 1849 and, after population increases, a state in 1858.
[[File:Downtown, Stillwater, Minnesota - DPLA - fc5ade376b1c3c36d568b163160a44f4 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Looking south on Main Street in Stillwater, mid-1870s.]]
As more evidence of Stillwater's importance at the time, the territorial convention selected three leading Minnesota cities as locations for three important public institutions: [[St. Paul, Minnesota|Saint Paul]] was designated as the capital; the [[University of Minnesota]] was established at Minneapolis; and Stillwater became the site of the territory's first [[prison]]. The [[Minnesota Territorial Prison]] (later [[Minnesota State Prison]]) was opened in 1853. The prison held [[Cole Younger|Cole]], [[Jim Younger|Jim]], and [[Bob Younger]], three of the Younger brothers of the [[James–Younger Gang]].

[[Lumbering]] was the predominant industry in the [[St. Croix River (Wisconsin-Minnesota)|St. Croix River Valley]] in the second half of the 19th century. For many years, lumbermen sent large rafts of logs down the St. Croix. They were collected at the [[St. Croix Boom Site]] two miles upstream of Stillwater, and processed in Stillwater's many [[sawmill]]s. [[Steamboat]]s were used most widely on the river from 1860 to 1890. A few still operate as entertainment venues today.

David Swain operated a shipyard and engine works in Stillwater. Excursion steamboats, such as the ''Verne Swain'' and the ''Capitol'', began to operate in the early 20th century, taking passengers to other cities along the river.<ref name="stillwater">{{cite book|author=Brent T. Peterson|title=Stillwater|location=Charleston, SC|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|page=80}}</ref>

During the [[American Civil War]], Stillwater sent men of the [[1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry]] Company B, [[5th Minnesota Infantry Regiment]] Company K, and the [[8th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment]] Company C, among others, to fight for the Union.<ref>[http://thisweekinthecivilwar.com/?p=337 From the ''Journal of Sgt. Sam Bloomer 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Part I']</ref><ref>[http://thisweekinthecivilwar.com/?p=350/ Historians seek Stillwater Civil War unit's flag]</ref><ref>Easton, A.B. 1909. ''History of the Saint Croix Valley'', vol. 1, pp. 40-58. Chicago: H.C. Cooper, Jr. & Co. This source contains a detailed list.</ref>

On October 18, 1921, [[Charles Strite]] invented the automatic pop-up bread [[toaster]] in Stillwater. By 1926, the Toastmaster Company began to market the first household toaster using a redesigned version of Strite's invention.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uspto.gov/news/pr/2001/01-46.jsp |title=Patent for Bread-Toaster Issued October 18, 1921 |website=www.uspto.gov |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201221533/http://www.uspto.gov/news/pr/2001/01-46.jsp |archive-date=February 1, 2015 |access-date=January 26, 2017}}</ref> In 1923, [[Nelson's Ice Cream]] parlor was established.<ref>{{cite web|first=Michelle |last=Miron |url=http://www.presspubs.com/st_croix/news/article_c3a2b17a-e7e8-11e1-936f-001a4bcf887a.html |title=Nelson's continuing 89-year tradition of local treats |publisher=Presspubs.com |date=2012-08-16 |access-date=2013-10-23}}</ref>

In 1931, construction of the [[Stillwater Bridge (St. Croix River)|Stillwater lift bridge]] over the [[St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota)|St. Croix River]] was completed at a final cost of $460,174, which was split equally between Minnesota and Wisconsin.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/liftbridge/|title=Stillwater Lift Bridge |date=2020|website=dot.state.mn.us |access-date=August 25, 2020}}</ref> The lift bridge is one of the city's most iconic and visible local monuments. It was part of [[Minnesota State Highway 36]] until 2017, when it closed to vehicle traffic. In 2020 it became part of a five-mile trail loop running through Stillwater and [[Houlton, Wisconsin]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dot.state.mn.us/stcroixcrossing/|title=St. Croix Crossing |date=2020|website=dot.state.mn.us |access-date=August 25, 2020}}</ref>

In 1996 the city of Stillwater entered into an agreement with Stillwater Township to annex land. In 2015 the Stillwater city council approved the annexing the last of the land covered by the agreement. The city's western border is now Manning Avenue (County Road 15). The northern border is now mostly, but not entirely, Minnesota Highway 96.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hometownsource.com/stillwater_gazette/news/local/area-briefs-stillwater-approves-long-anticipated-annexation/article_1efe07bf-7c81-57ff-a97a-2ab2372e0186.html|title=Stillwater approves long anticipated annexation|access-date=13 Dec 2017}}</ref>

Stillwater was described as the Minnesota headquarters of the [[Ku Klux Klan]] in 1991, and has been identified as a "probable" former [[sundown town]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.startribune.com/book-website-track-history-of-racist-sundown-towns-in-minnesota-u-s/489425621/|title=Book, website track history of racist 'sundown towns' in Minnesota, U.S.|last=Brown|first=Curt|publisher=Star Tribune|date=28 July 2018|access-date=16 February 2024}}</ref>