Early in 1838, the United States Congress ratified the 1837 treaty with the Ojibway (Chippewa) Indians. This treaty opened the St. Croix River Valley for permanent settlement and the harvesting of the rich, virgin pine forests.

During the summer of 1838, Benjamin Baker and his associate, Jesse Taylor, arrived from Fort Snelling to make a claim on the west bank of the St. Croix River, at the head of steamboat navigation where Robinet, a French fur trader, was living in a bark shanty. Baker and Taylor began construction of a mill complex, marking the beginning of the first permanent settlement.

Early in 1838, the United States Congress ratified the 1837 treaty with the Ojibway (Chippewa) Indians. This treaty opened the St. Croix River Valley for permanent settlement and the harvesting of the rich, virgin pine forests.

During the summer of 1838, Benjamin Baker and his associate, Jesse Taylor, arrived from Fort Snelling to make a claim on the west bank of the St. Croix River, at the head of steamboat navigation where Robinet, a French fur trader, was living in a bark shanty. Baker and Taylor began construction of a mill complex, marking the beginning of the first permanent settlement.