Afton

Adapted by the City of Afton Heritage Preservation Commission from “Historic Afton Village Walking Tour” written by the Afton Historical Society. Brochure version available at the Afton Historical Museum, 3165 St. Croix Trl S, or the Afton City Hall, 3033 St. Croix Trl S.

Have a memory or photo of Afton? Please email the Afton Heritage Preservation Commission at HPC@ci.afton.mn.us.

Originally settled by the Dakota nation, the village of Afton was established on the St. Croix River in 1837 by French Canadian fur traders. Minnesota became a state in 1858 and by the late nineteenth century, Afton was home to a diverse population of migrants from New England, immigrants from Sweden, Germany, Scotland, Ireland and Prussia, and a notable African-Ojibwe-Swedish family, the Bonga Fahlstrom’s.

The village was platted in 1855 but not incorporated until the early 1910s. The village and Afton Township merged in 1971 to become the City of Afton. For more on early Afton Township history, see “Historic Afton Valley Creek Tour” available at the Afton Historical Museum and “This is Afton” by the Afton Citizen’s Forum, 1977, available at the Minnesota Historical Society.

Historic sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) or locally designated by the City of Afton (in order from the museum on the river side down to Selma’s, then crossing the street to the west side going back towards Hwy 94 to end at the Putnam red house):

1. Congregational Church / Memorial Hall / Afton Historical Museum (local historic site), 3165 St Croix Trl S
2. Cushing Hotel / Afton House Inn (NRHP), 3291 St Croix Trl S
3. Citizens State Bank (local historic site) / Old berry shed, 3321 St Croix Trl S
4. Selma’s Ice Cream Parlor (local historic site), 3419 St Croix Trl S
5. Asa and Flora Tracy House (local historic site), 3632 St Croix Trl S
6. Emil Asp Blacksmith Shop (local historic site), 15880 36th St S
7. Afton Town Square Park (local historic site), St Croix Trl S and 34th St
8. Afton Village School (local historic site), 15888 34th St S
9. Carnithan-Squires House (local historic site), 3390 St Croix Trl S
10. Putnam House / Congregational Parsonage (local historic site), 3192 St Croix Trl S

Other sites of interest: includes roadside marker for Bolles Mill linking village and township histories. View online or pick up a brochure at the museum.

This activity has been financed in part with Federal funds from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of the Interior, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Department of the Interior. This program receives federal funds from the National Park Service. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, or handicap in its federally assisted programs. If you believe that you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility operated by a recipient of federal assistance, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office of Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240.

1950s Old Village Afton

Author Cynthia Blomquist Gustavson, who spoke at the Afton Historical Museum in July 2023, described the old village when she was growing up in the 1950s. She remembers “The Afton House, … two grocery stores, Lerk’s Bar, a family-type bar run by Lerk Lind, a Methodist, who was proud to tell you he didn’t drink, Sill’s Barber Shop, a lumber store on Highway 95, and a garage that housed the best car mechanic anywhere. It was also home to the Afton Volunteer Fire Department. At the south end, across from the town park, stood Selma’s Ice Cream Parlor …. [where in] the days before refrigeration, Ed [the owner and husband of Selma] sawed ice outside in their back yard in the winter and packed it around the ice cream freezers” (Cynthia Blomquist Gustavson, A Mischief of Mice: Secrets, Lies, and Love in the Sand Hills of Minnesota, NY: Blooming Twig, 2023, pp. 75-76).