The name derives from the St. Croix River’s calmness near the town center. Stillwater was one of the first settlements in Minnesota witnessing newcomers in the 1830s. And its official founding was in 1843. Stillwater was also the site for the selection of the State Capital and the University of Minnesota.  Stillwater’s initial population boom was due to its strategic location to significant forest to the north along the St. Croix River.  The settlement grew to 4K in 1870, 12K in 1900, but then began a rare population decline in the early 20th century, likely due to the collapse of the lumber industry in Minnesota. By 1940 Stillwater had contracted to just 7K residents. This, however, was not to last as Stillwater became an attract suburb in the Post War area. After significant suburb growth & annexation, along with becoming a popular tourist destination, Stillwater now has a population of nearly 20K whose daytime population swells in the height of the tourism season.

From an urbanist perspective Stillwater has a very intact Dwtn core, mainly focused on the St. Croix Scenic Byway. Several nearby blocks also have attractive historic commercial buildings as well. The surrounding residential streets are generally attractive late 19th and early 20th century single family housing and more and more denser apartments and luxury condos and townhomes are being built on the edge of Dwtn. Stillwater has a great array of local retail and boutiques and also contains many restaurants, bars and cafes. Stillwater has become a pretty exclusive place if one wishes to live here. Rentals are limited, for sale housing is pretty expensive and the bulk of the population is higher earning White families. Given its low density, I would like to see a lot more dense housing built, especially rentals available to working people. Schools are also generally located outside of the City core, and transit service is very limited.

Click here to view my Stillwater album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Overall very good sidewalk and ADA infrastructure. Just a handful of streets on the edge of this evaluation area lack sidewalks.
* Excellent tree canopy.
* Decent for sale options with a handful of 1-bed homes that sell in the 200KS & 300Ks, 2-beds sell btwn 200K-800K with higher end product concentrated in newer townhomes in Dwtn Stillwater. 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 300K-1M.
* Excellent waterfront trail and park space. Other than this are a couple of smaller parklettes, several ballparks, a public golf course, and cemetery.
* Great cultural amenities including tons of restaurants, bars & cafes. Also a handful of art galleries, a couple museums & live music venues, and several historic sites.
* Good retail amenities including a Co-op, a great array of locally owned boutiques, antiques, &  gift shops, a couple bookstores. a local florists, plenty of dessert joints & bakeries, a couple gyms, a public library, several churches, and a local hospital.
* Overall Stillwater is a very a safe community.
* Good historic architecture, especially the commercial buildings along St. Croix Trail. Modern-infill is limited but some pretty urban apartments and townhomes in the Dwtn area.
* Great pedestrian activity in Dwtn Stillwater. Much quieter in the residential areas.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

• Some buses travel to Dwtn St. Paul and Minneapolis (40 mins and 60 mins) but other than that public transit is limited. One can still drive to Dwtn St Paul in 25 mins and 35 mins to Dwtn Minneapolis.
• Very low density for an urban district but this is still a town seperated from the Twin Cities.
• A couple scenic bike trails crossing St. Croix river or running alongside it but not terribly practical.
• Not great diversity indicators.
• Only a couple small schools within the walkable part of Stillwater but both a large public elementary and middle school sit just west of the Stillwater core.
• Rentals are pretty limited in Stillwater.”