Arcola Mills Programs

Date: October 11, 2011
Contact: Jonathon Moore, 715-491-6839

Upcoming Programs at Historic Arcola Mills

The Arcola Mills Historic Foundation and the National Park Service (NPS) are pleased to announce that Arcola Mills is open to the public daily, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., through October 30, 2011. The site will be closed on October 8 for a private event.

Admission to the historic site is free.

Arcola Mills is functioning as a visitor information center for the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway during October. It is staffed by National Park Rangers and volunteers in an experiment that hopes to draw people to this spectacular setting on the St. Croix River. In addition to great river views at the height of fall color, visitors can watch a film about the Riverway and view exhibits or attend a program to learn about the history of Arcola Mills and its surrounding environment.

The following programs are scheduled:

Raptor Display: Arcola will host raptors from Warner Nature Center. See the birds up close and learn about raptor ecology from Warner Nature Center docents.

Saturday, October 15, noon to 2:00 p.m.

Sunday, October 16, noon to 3:00 p.m.

Sunday, October 23, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Saturday, October 29, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, October 30, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Guided Nature Hikeswith Naturalist Julia Bohnen on Saturday, October 15 and 16 at 1:00 p.m. Hike the Arcola Mills Nature Trail to learn more about the unique ecology of Arcola.

Birds of Minnesota on Saturday, October 22 from 11:00 to 2:00 p.m. Naturalist Matt Schuth will share intriguing facts about the birds of Minnesota illustrated with his collection of nests, eggs and other bird artifacts. Drop-in any time between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

All programs are free and open to the public.

Located six miles north of Stillwater, Minnesota, Arcola Mills was the site of a small and prosperous village founded at the start of the lumbering era in the 1840s.Today, the site features the Mower House, a restored Greek Revival mansion built in 1847, and one of the largest undeveloped parcels of land on the shoreline of the nationally designated wild and scenic St. Croix River.

Arcola Mills is located at 12905 Arcola Trail North in Stillwater. For additional information, call [phone] or visit http://arcolamills.org

ABOUT THE ARCOLA MILLS HISTORIC FOUNDATION
By the 1920s, long after the lumbering bonanza ended and the sawmill closed, the Mower family home and surrounding village fell into disuse.In the mid-1930s, Dr. Henry Van Meier and his wife Katharine purchased the Mower house and its surrounding 50+ acres of property on the St. Croix River. It became their summer house until Dr. Van Meier's death in 1979.

In the 1990s, after Katharine Van Meier's death, Arcola Mills was incorporated as a non-profit organization.Today, the mission of the Arcola Mills Historic Foundation is to restore and preserve this incomparable natural and historic place on the St. Croix River and to encourage people to gather here, to connect, learn, create and renew their spirit.

ABOUT THE ST. CROIX NATIONAL SCENIC RIVERWAY
The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, a unit of the National Park System, was established by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1968. It is one of a group of eight rivers in the country that first received this recognition. For 255 miles, the St. Croix River and its tributary, the Namekagon, flow through some of the most scenic and least developed country in the Upper Midwest.

For more information call 715-483-2274