Experience Arcola Mills on the St. Croix River:

We invite you to take part in our educational workshops and planned events at Arcola Mills. Arcola may be able to help with planning your organizational meetings as well. For the month of October, Arcola Mills is open daily, 9 am - 5 pm.

DIRECTIONS: If you're headed north from Stillwater on Hwy. 95, turn right (east) on Arcola Trail 5.5 beyond the intersection of Hwys. 95 & 96. (Disregard the first "Arcola Trail" roadsign at the 2-mile mark to avoid slower residential road).  If you're headed south on Hwy. 95 from Marine-On-St. Croix, turn left (east) on Arcola Trail roughly 4.5 miles south of Marine.  Once on Arcola Trail, head straight toward the river just .2 miles to our gates.  Arcola Mills sign is on the right side of gate. 

Community Partners
Arcola Mills is grateful to its community partners for their support and collaboration.  Please check out these web sites for more information on these organizations:

• Great River Greening: www.greatrivergreening.org
• ArtReach Alliance: www.artreachalliance.org
• Stillwater Chamber of Commerce: www.ilovestillwater.com
• Stillwater Public Library: www.stillwaterlibrary.org 

Mission:   

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.

Vision:

Arcola on the St. croix exemplifies the blend of the natural world with the human spirit and reflects to us our place in the flow of time.

• Be a national model for its environmentally and historically responsible operation
• Be visited, loved and supported by the residents of the St. Croix Valley
• Have restored and adapted for appropriate use all viable structures on the property

Values:
We believe that:

• Nature is a healing force
• What happened in the past is reflected in the way we’ve found the land today—every group that has used this land has left a legacy
• It is possible to reconcile responsible environmental stewardship with economically viable development

In all our work we will try to preserve the natural features of the land by:

• Keeping groups of visitors small
• Using the interface of the land and river as little as possible (i.e. landing boats)
• Finding the delicate balance between protecting the site, making it available, and generating income
• Lean toward simplicity in structures and systems, and keeping the eccentric character of the outbuildings
• Successfully meld multiple uses
• Build alliances by sharing, networking and collaborating—we are a greater whole than the sum of our parts
• Share with and involve the immediate surrounding community
• Invite people to come and learn while they do useful work with us on the site
• Become a model for environmentally correct activities and systems
• Take a global view of spirituality
• Nurture people’s creativity

Arcola Ethic:
To realize our mission and vision, Arcola Mills is committed to these guiding principles:

• Historic Preservation
  - Restoring a sense of place to foster creativity and caring
  Community Sustainability
  - Balancing economic and social concerns within overarching environmental stewardship
• Creative Expression
  - Offering a place to “enjoy the freedom of physical, emotional, and spiritual expression”
• River Stewardship
  - Doing our part to maintain the integrity of the Wild and Scenic St. Croix River

(photo by Karen Eckman)