Historic Osceola Walking Tour

The first inhabitants of the St. Croix Valley were Sioux and Chippewa Indians. An 1837 treaty signed between the Native American tribes and the U.S. government removed the region between the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers from Native American Possession and opened the area for settlement by Europeans. On May 14, 1844 William Kent (considered the founding father of Osceola) and others made the first land claims in the area. On a return trip from St. Croix Falls they stopped to investigate the origins of a creek which flowed into the east side of the St. Croix river. When they saw Cascade Falls they immediately recognized its potential for power production. By 1845 a flutter wheel-powered sawmill was in operation and for the next 70 years Osceola was home to many flour, grist and lumber mills. In 1855 William Kent owned the entire claim to what is now Osceola.