Lumbering was the predominant industry in the St. Croix River Valley in the second half of the 19th century, and for many years logs were sent down the St. Croix, collected at the St. Croix Boom Site two miles upstream of Stillwater, and processed in Stillwater's many sawmills.
Stillwater sent men of the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Company B and the 8th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment Company C to fight during the American Civil War [REF].