Point Douglas: The Minnesota Ghost Town Right Next to Hastings
You've been on Point Douglas Road. You've probably taken it to get to Carpenter Nature Center or cut over toward Prescott. But here's what most people don't know — that road is named after a real town. A town that once had 200 people, two ferries, a working sawmill, hotels, a post office, and its own blacksmith shop.
And now it's basically gone.
We recently watched a 45th anniversary presentation by Mayme Johnson, who worked at Carpenter Nature Center for over 30 years. She spent part of it walking through the history of Point Douglas — the land the nature center sits on — and the detail is remarkable. Here's a condensed version.
Point Douglas Was a Big Deal in the 1850s
Before Minnesota was even a state, Point Douglas was one of the most important spots in the entire territory.
This stretch of land sits right where the St. Croix River meets the Mississippi River. Starting in 1849, settlers poured in. Steamboats came up the river loaded with supplies. People were getting off those boats to claim land in the new Minnesota Territory — and Point Douglas was their first stop.
At its peak, the town had everything a frontier settlement needed. There was the Dudley Mill, which employed 50 people. There were grain warehouses, stores, two ferries (one crossing the Mississippi to Hastings, another crossing the St. Croix to Prescott), and a post office that was the first one established outside of Fort Snelling.
The first roads funded in the state? They came out of Point Douglas. According to the Washington County Historical Society, one road headed north toward Superior and the other went west through what's now Cottage Grove and St. Paul to Fort Ripley. Mayme noted in her talk that this was around 1850 — making Point Douglas the literal origin point of Minnesota's road system.
This was the gateway to Minnesota.
So What Happened?
A few things hit Point Douglas all at once in the 1870s and 1880s.
The white pine lumber industry collapsed — the trees were gone. Buildings started burning down and weren't replaced. And then the big one: a steel toll bridge to Prescott opened, which made crossing the river way easier. Prescott grew. Point Douglas shrank.
The post office closed. The church closed. The school — which at one point had 60 students ages 5 to 20 with one teacher earning $20 a month — finally shut down in 1946.
Today, almost nothing remains. The name lives on in Point Douglas Road, Point Douglas Beach, and a small regional park. But the town itself? Gone. If you've explored Hastings and its surrounding history, you've likely passed right through it without realizing it.
There Is One Building Left
Mayme pointed out that the Valley School, built in 1852, is still standing on County Road 21. It's the second schoolhouse — the first one burned down. You can actually see it as you round the curves on CR-21 just before Highway 10. It's on your right.
The Denmark Township Historical Society purchased it in 2012 with hopes of restoring it. It's a real piece of history sitting quietly along a road most of us drive without thinking twice.
What's Still Out There
Point Douglas Park — a Washington County park — sits at the actual confluence of the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers today. There's a beach, a fishing pier, a canoe and kayak launch, and a paved 2.5-mile trail that follows the Mississippi toward Hastings. It's one of the better-kept secrets in the South Metro for outdoor recreation.
And if you're looking for more hidden corners of local history worth exploring, our complete guide to South Metro farmers markets covers a handful of spots near Hastings that locals have been going to for decades.
The Bottom Line
Next time you're heading to Carpenter Nature Center or driving down Point Douglas Road, you're passing through the bones of one of Minnesota's earliest and most important settlements. A place that was supposed to be a major city, that served as the gateway to an entire territory — and quietly disappeared over a few decades.
The history is still there if you know where to look. If you want to hear it told by someone who's spent a career on that land, Mayme's full talk is on YouTube and it's worth an hour of your time.
