How One Couple's 3M Stock Became One of the Best Nature Preserves in the Twin Cities

In 1929, a St. Paul woman named Edna Carpenter bought 1,000 shares of 3M stock. She kept adding to it over the years. By the time she and her husband Tom passed away in the early 1970s, that investment — combined with a clear vision for their land — had become the foundation for Carpenter Nature Center.

725 acres. More than 65,000 visitors a year. One of the most significant nature preserves in the South Metro area. It all traces back to one couple, some apple trees, and a stock certificate.

That's the version of the story we heard from Mayme Johnson, who worked at Carpenter for over 30 years and shared the full history in a recent presentation for the nature center's 45th anniversary. You can watch the whole thing on YouTube. Here's what stood out.

Tom and Edna Carpenter

Tom Carpenter was born in southeastern Iowa and served in World War I. When he came back, he spotted a business opportunity: buildings were going up fast in St. Paul and people needed office furniture. He started the Sperry Office Furniture Company. Edna was the bookkeeper — that's likely how they met.

They married in 1924. And when they bought land in Washington County along the St. Croix River starting in 1937, Tom had a vision for it: fruit production. He started planting apple trees. Thousands of them. Records suggest somewhere between 7,000 and 9,000 trees covered the hillsides, the fields, and the bluffs along the river.

Tom became known as an apple expert. He judged apple competitions at the State Fair. He promoted Minnesota-grown apples everywhere he went. Mayme told a great detail in her talk: when customers opened a new savings account at First Federal Savings in St. Paul — where Tom sat on the board — they got a bag of apples from Carpenter Orchard.

Tom and Edna didn't have any children. That fact quietly shaped everything that came after.

The 3M Connection

The stock Edna bought in 1929 was well-timed. 3M had only become financially stable in 1916 and paid its first dividend that same year, after more than a decade of near-failure following a failed mining venture in Two Harbors. By 1929, 3M — headquartered in St. Paul — was beginning its run as one of the country's most innovative manufacturers. Edna kept buying stock. By the time the Carpenter Foundation was established, that investment had grown into the endowment that funded the nature center's early years.

3M's ties to the nature center didn't end there. The pavilion at Carpenter Nature Center, built in 2011, also received support from 3M.

What They Did With It

Tom and Edna didn't want their property developed. They wanted it protected — for future generations, permanently. So in 1969, they established the Thomas E. and Edna D. Carpenter Foundation with a small group of trustees. The foundation had a specific mandate: protect the land, run school programs, make it accessible, and don't duplicate what other organizations were already doing.

Edna passed away in 1972. The foundation held its first official meeting in January 1973. Tom Carpenter died in March of that same year — just weeks later — having attended only one meeting.

Mayme paused on that detail in her talk. He spent decades building this and only made it to one meeting. But the vision was already in place, and a small group of dedicated trustees carried it forward.

The foundation officially became Carpenter Nature Center in October 1981. The preserve now spans 725 acres across Minnesota and Wisconsin, serving more than 65,000 visitors a year with free admission. That kind of legacy is exactly what the Hastings community has benefited from for decades, and it's part of why the area around Point Douglas Road and the St. Croix corridor remains one of the most visited outdoor destinations in Dakota and Washington County.

The Bottom Line

Carpenter Nature Center sits at 12805 St. Croix Trail in Hastings. Admission is free. The trails, the river views, and the fall orchard season are as good as anything in the South Metro.

And if you're interested in more of what's being preserved and developed near Hastings, the massive 160-acre development proposed for north Hastings is a good read on how the area continues to grow.

Now you know the story behind all of it.