Manuscripts Collection
The St. Croix River Improvement Association (later the St. Croix River Association) was a volunteer group that operated sporadically from 1911 to 1989. Its members were mainly residents of communities along the Minnesota side of the St. Croix River, who were concerned about restoring and preserving the river. Over the years, the Association's major areas of concern included maintaining a navigable flow of water, barring construction that could have a negative impact on the river, ending pollution of the river, and gaining federal protection for it.
The St. Croix River Improvement Association (SCRIA) was organized on September 27, 1911, at a meeting called by George H. Hazzard, the first commissioner of Interstate State Park, with the initial goals of improving the river's navigation and connecting it to Lake Superior via a canal. During the early years of the organization, Hazzard, who was chosen as its first president, oversaw its mostly futile efforts to stock the river with fish, to clear hazards created by the lumbering industry, and to restore a navigable flow of water.
Although the SCRIA apparently became inactive at the end of Hazzard's tenure in 1919, the issues it had tried to address remained concerns for the communities along the river and the group was reactivated in 1928 at the instigation of Samuel G. Strickland, a member of the original SCRIA. The organization renewed its battle with Northern States Power (NSP) to maintain the flow of water over the dam at St. Croix Falls, worked to end commercial fishing on the river, advocated the removal of debris from highway construction along the river, and made plans for reforestation and prevention of soil erosion and pollution.
From 1935 to 1941, the SCRIA focused on deepening the river channel, fighting a plan to create public parks on islands and along the shoreline, and dealing with the growing number of rough fish. World War II seems to have slowed the organization's work, for it appears not to have met between September 1941 and October 1945. Enthusiasm for the group was rekindled under the influence of Mary Jane Leonard and, on October 31, 1947, it was reorganized as the St. Croix River Association. During the late 1940s and through the 1950s, the group concentrated on pollution, the Osceola bridge proposal, water safety, and conservation.
During the 1960s, the SCRA actively opposed the construction of an NSP power plant at Oak Park Heights and supported the inclusion of the St. Croix in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Its work helped ease pollution concerns in the 1970s and the SCRA continued its conservation efforts into the late 1980s.
In 1986, James Taylor Dunn, former president and secretary of the SCRA, published a
short history of the organization,
Historical information on the St. Croix River Association was taken from
The St. Croix River Association records consist of correspondence, minutes, reports, newspaper clippings, copies of press releases, and other miscellaneous papers documenting the organization, which was concerned with conservation of the St. Croix River area.
The main topics covered by the papers include: shooting of waterfowl, "rough fishing," commercial vs. sport fishing, fishing with artificial lights, control of blister rust, restocking the river, water level problems, opposition to building private seaplane docks, the elimination of railroad service between Hastings and Stillwater, water and boat safety, construction of natural gas pipelines in the area, dredging operations, the construction of a Northern States Power Company plant at Oak Park Heights, and the efforts of the SCRA to secure approval of two Senate bills relating to the St. Croix (the Wild River Bill [S.1446] and the St. Croix Scenic Waterway Bill [S.897]).
Also in the collection are minutes of the Lower St. Croix Management Commission and
the Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission, and correspondence and other
papers relating to the publication of James Taylor Dunn's
These records are organized into the following sections:
The Minnesota Historical Society also holds the papers of George H. Hazzard, the first president of the St. Croix River Improvement Association, and the papers of Save the St. Croix, Inc., another organization that worked against construction of the Northern States Power plant at Oak Park Heights and for the designation of the St. Croix as a National Scenic Waterway.
Accession numbers: 8045; 8060; 10,342; 11,118; 12,576; 13,683; 13,748; 13,900; 14,352; 16,542
Processed by: Candice L. Hart, September 2000
Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project
grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission
Catalog ID number: 001713832
Includes the constitution and by-laws of the St. Croix River Association, and correspondence from St. Croix River Association Presidents.
From 1917 to 1935, most of the correspondence is between John W. G. Dunn, vice president of the SCRIA, and officials of the Wisconsin and Minnesota departments of conservation, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Corps of Engineers. Issues covered include shooting of waterfowl, "rough fishing," commercial vs. sport fishing, fishing with artificial lights, control of blister rust, restocking the river, and water level problems.
From 1938 to 1966, materials include correspondence, reports, copies of press releases, and newspaper clippings. The main topics include those noted above as well as opposition to building private seaplane docks, the elimination of railroad service between Hastings and Stillwater, water and boat safety, construction of natural gas pipelines in the area, dredging operations, the construction of a Northern States Power Company plant at Oak Park Heights, and the efforts of the SCRA to secure approval of two Senate bills relating to the St. Croix (the Wild River Bill [S.1446] and the St. Croix Scenic Waterway Bill [S.897]).
From 1967 to 1988, materials include correspondence, reports, copies of press releases, membership lists and newspaper clippings. Issues covered include bridges, pollution, surface regulations, installation of a weather observatory at the Wild River State Park visitor center, and the federal bills noted above.
Includes correspondence, reports, and occasional mintues and agendas; filed roughly in reverse chronological order.
Includes some pre-presidential correspondence.
Includes sample petitions, draft resolutions, a speech by Bill M. Dean, and postcards promoting Fourth of July celebrations in Marine-on-St. Croix.
The St. Croix River Association (SCRA) minutes cover the same issues noted in the correspondence. Those from 1928 to 1951 are photocopies of the originals, which are held by the Washington County Historical Society. The minute books from 1952 to 1981 also contain newspaper clippings, announcements, reports, and photographs.
The minutes of two agencies that directly affect the management of the St. Croix River are also included in this collection. The Lower St. Croix Management Commission (LSCMC) was created in 1973 to coordinate planning, protection, and management of the Lower St. Croix Scenic Waterway. It represents the interests of the National Park Service, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Minnesota and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources (DNR), and the Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission. LSCMC agendas are included with the minutes.
The Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission (MWBAC) has served as the coordination center for the Lower St. Croix Scenic Waterway programs of the National Park Service and the Minnesota and Wisconsin DNRs since 1963. It also encourages the involvement of local governments and individuals in the planning and management of the river. MWBAC agendas and some correspondence are included with the minutes.
The correspondence and miscellaneous papers consist of one folder of fund raising and distribution information, reviews, and press releases, and a second folder containing correspondence to and from James Taylor Dunn, background materials collected by him, and publication details.
[0.6 cubic feet empty, legal]