A Family History of the Engelwood Parcel
by Catherine Preus
I was seven years old when my father, David Preus, inspired by a cabin on the St. Croix River belonging to his friend and business partner, Roderick Shearer, began buying up farmland along the river in the late 1950’s with the idea of creating a membership association of vacation homes that would preserve the natural beauty of the area.
After acquiring land on the river bluffs, my father built an outhouse and three small plywood cabins: a cook cabin, and two sleeping cabins a short walk into the woods. Our family spent all our summers for the next three decades inhabiting this rustic set-up, enjoying the close contact with nature which this glorified camping on the land provided.
The river was our favorite place to be. On sunny days, we motored upriver in our aluminum rowboat for a picnic on a sandbar. On the way back, we would shut off the motor and float downstream through the slough, us kids trailing behind the boat in truck-sized inner tubes. My mother always brought along her Peterson Field Guides to the wildflowers and birds, and she would point out the watercress, forget-me-nots, marsh marigolds, or her favorite, the red cardinal flower.
The slough gradually exercised a kind of spell on us, and we would lapse into silence, suspended in time, floating in the dark waters, carried along by the river. Shafts of sunlight filtered through the translucent green canopy of trees. In our hushed domain of alternating light and shadow, the only sounds were the pure notes of bird calls, the buzzing of insects, or the scrape of an oar as my father pushed the boat away from a protruding log. Drifting noiselessly, passively watching the scenery go by, we temporarily lost our grip on the everyday world.
Now in my seventh decade, looking back to my childhood, it seems as if those long summer days went on forever – as long as we had energy for them, and our energy was boundless.
Over the years, my father (The Cottonwood Land Company), acquired 1700 acres of land. In 1968, with the passage of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, “the Feds” bought our stretch of riverfront. The 1972 Lower St. Croix National Scenic Riverway act imposed new restrictions on development in the form of scenic easements. My father’s proposed development was somewhat in limbo, but still going forward. While my parents wanted to preserve the natural character of the land, they needed to make their investment pay as they were deeply in debt. Eventually, the planned development failed to attract the necessary buyers, and my parents were forced to sell the land. By this time, my parents were living full time in the red brick farmhouse, (now Foxtail CSA), on 280 th Street. Just north of them, Verna Kragnes and Rick Hall of Philadelphia Community Farm were at that time envisioning a greenway along the St. Croix that would incorporate small farms and land preservation. With the newly founded non-profit, Standing Cedars Community Land Conservancy, they initiated a campaign to raise the money to buy our family’s land. It was a year of ups and downs. Against all odds, and with a sizable grant from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund, this grassroots effort triumphed, and in October of 1995, the 1100-acre Engelwood parcel officially became part of SCCLC.
I am grateful beyond words that my family’s land has been protected for the generations. How many people can come back to their childhood home and find it unspoiled? In the past 30 years, I have witnessed SCCLC’s stewardship presence radiating outward, expanding beyond simple conservation to enriching the larger community, with activities such as volunteer workdays, scientific studies, group hikes, and a scholarship fund for Osceola High School students.
I encourage people to come and walk and ski this land at all times of the day and in all seasons so that they can come to know it and love it as I do. This is what I would wish for people who come to SCCLC – that they feel it is their own, that it is their home and that it belongs to them, and they belong to it.
You can read stories about Catherine’s St. Croix River Memories at her blog: stcroixrivervalleymemories.blogspot.com
