Stillwater in Washington County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Minnesota Territory 1849 1858 ⎯⎯⎯ Washington County Takes Shape
Photographed by Keith L, June 11, 2011
1. Minnesota Territory 1849 – 1858 Marker
Inscription.
Minnesota Territory 1849 1858, also, Washington County Takes Shape. .
Minnesota Territory 1849 – 1858. On March 3, 1849, during his last hours in office, President James K. Polk signed a bill adding a new name to the American political landscape – Minnesota Territory. A vast land, it stretched from the St. Croix River and Lake Superior on the east to the Missouri River on the west, and north to the Canadian border. Totaling more than 166,000 square miles, Minnesota Territory was divided into nine counties: Wabashaw, Dakotah, Washington, Ramsey, Benton, Itasca, Wahnahta, Mahkahta, and Pembina. , In those feverish years of American expansion, pressure built to organize the lands along the upper Mississippi River. Iowa and Wisconsin had already entered the Union and were rapidly filling with settlers. The story of frontier settlement was soon to be repeated in Minnesota, as a thin stream of farmers, lumbermen and land speculators turned into a tidal wave. , The same places being claimed and named by these settlers and Washington politicians had been the homelands, hunting grounds, and burial places of Indian people for thousands of years. And since the later 1600s, small numbers of Europeans and Americans had lived here together with the Native people, trading furs and goods, making families, and creating new traditions. , In 1849 that world of relatively peaceful coexistence was about to collapse, sometimes with brutal force. During the territorial years, Dakota and Ojibwe peoples signed treaties that ceded nearly all of their lands in Minnesota to the U.S government in exchange for money, promises, and reservations. , Meanwhile, settlements such as St. Paul, Stillwater, and St. Anthony mushroomed into cities. Farms and towns spread across the prairies. The booming population, which had grown from less than 5,000 settlers in 1849 to more than 100,000, clamored for statehood. It was granted in 1858, just nine short years after the creation of the territory. ,
Washington County Takes Shape. When Minnesota Territory's original nine counties were established in 1849, only three – Washington, Ramsey, and Benton – officially opened to settlers. They lay in a triangle of land between the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers that reached north beyond Lake Mille Lacs – land ceded by the Dakota and Ojibwe Indians twelve years earlier. , In 1840 this land became part of St. Croix County in Wisconsin Territory, with Stillwater designated the county seat. When Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, its western boundary was set at the St. Croix River, leaving Stillwater and the surrounding counties without a government. With the formation of Minnesota Territory ten months later, settlers living west of the St. Croix once again had official status. The legislature adopted the name Washington County, after the Nation's first president, and retained Stillwater as the county seat. , Rich stands of pine in the St. Croix valley had drawn settlers as early as 1839, when lumbermen from the New England states began building sawmills at places like Marine Mills and Stillwater. So many other immigrants followed from the northeastern U.S. that Minnesota Territory was soon dubbed "the New England of the West." , Fertile land and abundant resources quickly attracted new waves of immigrants, particularly from Sweden, who began arriving in 1850 to farm the northern part of the county. When the first census of Minnesota Territory was taken that year, Washington County had 1,056 Euro-American and mixed-blood residents, and following St. Paul; Stillwater was the second largest town in the territory. , As Minnesota's population grew, old county boundaries were redrawn and new counties organized. Washington County eventually retained only a portion of its former area. Today, farms still dot the countryside, though many have given way to Suburban development and sawmills in the bustling river towns have been replaced by manufacturing and tourism. ,
Erected by the Minnesota Historical Society 2001 [Seal of The Minnesota Historical Society].
Minnesota Territory 1849 – 1858
On March 3, 1849, during his last hours in office, President James K. Polk signed a bill adding a new name to the American political landscape – Minnesota Territory. A vast land, it stretched from the St. Croix River and Lake Superior on the east to the Missouri River on the west, and north to the Canadian border. Totaling more than 166,000 square miles, Minnesota Territory was divided into nine counties: Wabashaw, Dakotah, Washington, Ramsey, Benton, Itasca, Wahnahta, Mahkahta, and Pembina.
In those feverish years of American expansion, pressure built to organize the lands along the upper Mississippi River. Iowa and Wisconsin had already entered the Union and were rapidly filling with settlers. The story of frontier settlement was soon to be repeated in Minnesota, as a thin stream of farmers, lumbermen and land speculators turned into a tidal wave.
The same places being claimed and named by these settlers and Washington politicians had been the homelands, hunting grounds, and burial places of Indian people for thousands of years. And since the later 1600s, small numbers of Europeans and Americans had lived here together with the Native people, trading furs and goods, making families, and creating new traditions.
In
Click or scan to see this page online
1849 that world of relatively peaceful coexistence was about to collapse, sometimes with brutal force. During the territorial years, Dakota and Ojibwe peoples signed treaties that ceded nearly all of their lands in Minnesota to the U.S government in exchange for money, promises, and reservations.
Meanwhile, settlements such as St. Paul, Stillwater, and St. Anthony mushroomed into cities. Farms and towns spread across the prairies. The booming population, which had grown from less than 5,000 settlers in 1849 to more than 100,000, clamored for statehood. It was granted in 1858, just nine short years after the creation of the territory.
Washington County Takes Shape
When Minnesota Territory's original nine counties were established in 1849, only three – Washington, Ramsey, and Benton – officially opened to settlers. They lay in a triangle of land between the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers that reached north beyond Lake Mille Lacs – land ceded by the Dakota and Ojibwe Indians twelve years earlier.
In 1840 this land became part of St. Croix County in Wisconsin Territory, with Stillwater designated the county seat. When Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, its western boundary was set at the St. Croix River, leaving Stillwater and the surrounding counties without a government. With the formation of Minnesota
Photographed by Keith L, June 11, 2011
2. Washington County Takes Shape Marker
Territory ten months later, settlers living west of the St. Croix once again had official status. The legislature adopted the name Washington County, after the Nation's first president, and retained Stillwater as the county seat.
Rich stands of pine in the St. Croix valley had drawn settlers as early as 1839, when lumbermen from the New England states began building sawmills at places like Marine Mills and Stillwater. So many other immigrants followed from the northeastern U.S. that Minnesota Territory was soon dubbed "the New England of the West."
Fertile land and abundant resources quickly attracted new waves of immigrants, particularly from Sweden, who began arriving in 1850 to farm the northern part of the county. When the first census of Minnesota Territory was taken that year, Washington County had 1,056 Euro-American and mixed-blood residents, and following St. Paul; Stillwater was the second largest town in the territory.
As Minnesota's population grew, old county boundaries were redrawn and new counties organized. Washington County eventually retained only a portion of its former area. Today, farms still dot the countryside, though many have given way to Suburban development and sawmills in the bustling river towns have been replaced by manufacturing and tourism.
Erected by the Minnesota Historical Society
2001 [Seal
Photographed by Keith L, June 11, 2011
3. Minnesota Territory 1849 – 1858 Marker
[south side of marker]
of The Minnesota Historical Society]
Erected 2001 by the Minnesota Historical Society.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Minnesota Historical Society series list. A significant historical month for this entry is March 2001.
Location. 45° 3.101′ N, 92° 48.458′ W. Marker is in Stillwater, Minnesota, in Washington County. It can be reached from Walnut Street West, west of 3rd Street South, on the right when traveling west. Marker is beyond the courthouse parking lot at the northwest corner of the Washington County Historic Courthouse. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 101 Pine Street West, Stillwater MN 55082, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Corn Belt, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Ruperts Land, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
5. Minnesota Territory 1849 – 1858 / Washington County Takes Shape Marker
Marker is to the right of the courthouse.
August 30, 2025
6. Washington County Takes Shape side of marker
August 30, 2025
7. Washington County Takes Shape side of marker
Credits. This page was last revised on September 12, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 29, 2011, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 1,785 times since then and 84 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on June 29, 2011, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. 6, 7. submitted on September 6, 2025.
