Taylors Falls Historical Society

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Taylors Falls Historical Society

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Consider joining the Taylors Falls Historical Society. For membership information, visit www.tfhistory.com. General Information: Adults $5.00, 6-17 yrs $1.00.

Visit the Historic 1855 Folsom House and the 1852 Town House School while you're in Taylors Falls! Open Memorial Day Weekend through September, Fridays-Sundays, and holidays from 1pm to 4:30pm. Children under 6 get in free. Members of the Minnesota Historical Society and the Taylors Falls Historical Society get in free. Pre-arranged group tours (10 or more guests) available at other times." Owned by the Minnesota Historical Society and operated by the Taylors Falls Historical Society. Also, stop in to see the Visitor Center which is located just down the hill from the Folsom House in the lower level of the community center (the old train depot - 312 Government Street, Taylors Falls, MN 55084). The Visitor Center is open Saturday, Sunday and Holidays from 1:00 to 4:00 P.M. No entrance fee. Lower level of the Taylors Falls Memorial Community Center.

10/23/2026

Many circuses came to Taylors Falls to entertain the masses! Here are some advertisements from four of those circuses:

Photo 1: Advertisement for W.W. Cole’s Circus that appeared in the Taylors Falls Journal on June 28, 1883. The circus performed on Thursday, July 5, 1883. It was reported that over 7,000 tickets were sold.

Photos 2, 3: Top and bottom of an advertisement for “W.H. Harris’ New, Absolutely World Famous Nickel-Plate Shows,” printed in the Taylors Falls Journal on July 3, 1884. They performed on July 7, 1884. The circus was large enough to fill ten train cars.

Photo 4: Image that appeared with a description of Wallace & Co.’s “Great World Menagerie,” published in the Taylors Falls Journal on July 4, 1889. The Company boasted a two-mile parade on July 18, 1889.

Photo 5: Advertisement for the Yankee Robinson Circus, published in the Taylors Falls Journal on August 5, 1909. The circus performed on August 7, 1909, and needed two trains to deliver all the people, animals and equipment.

In our next post, we’ll share the circus parade route and explain how the circus companies traveled to Taylors Falls and where they performed!

10/19/2026

This ad appeared in the Taylors Falls Reporter on Thursday, June 5, 1869. One wonders if the reward was ever earned..?

Interesting fact: $20 in 1869 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $493 today.

10/16/2026

Did you know stenciling was discovered on the floor of the upstairs hallway at the Folsom House in 2012?

In April that year, a carpenter was hired to strip and repaint the original 1855 pine floor boards of the upstairs hallway. After stripping away seven or eight layers of paint (photo 3), he discovered a beautiful stencil design: a diamond and flower pattern, made of green, yellow, white, and orange on a blue base coat. As some of the records of the house's construction still exist, it is assumed this traditional stencil design was created by Swedish immigrants William Folsom hired to paint his new house.

Finding evidence of what immigrants would have painted for their wealthy, American employer was quite exciting! Another neat aspect of finding the stencil indicates the grandeur of this frontier-town mansion; this level of decoration in a private area of their home shows the Folsoms were well off.

The stencil is still visible in the home, and the hope is that it could be restored someday!

An article about the stenciled floor can be found in the Spring 2025 edition of “Life & Times in Taylors Falls.”

10/09/2026

Now / Then: Women's Rest Room, MN Interstate State Park

Photo 1: Two (unnamed) men sit by what was originally known as the “Women’s Rest Room” in the upper Minnesota Interstate State Park. The Women’s Rest Room was built in 1920 and 1921 by park staff, not by the two WPA programs many years later.

The King Tut Inn can be seen in the background. The King Tut operated from 1923-1952 under the ownership of Mr. & Mrs. Charles Angle and others, although closed during the 1943, '44 and '45 seasons due to WW2 rationing and declining health of Mrs. Angle. In 1953 the restaurant was operated by George Gamer, hence the name change. The restaurant was not open in 1954. The last season it was operational was 1955 and known as Christenson's Cafe. It was torn down in 1958. The land upon which the building stood was purchased by the Minnesota Highway Department to make improvements to the approach to the present/1955 bridge.

The roof overhang is supported by four corner pillars, with two additional pillars on each side. Today, the building largely retains its appearance from a 1941(?) remodel that either replaced or encased the pillars completely with trap rock (as seen in Photo 2).

Photo 2: The 2026 view of the same location in Photo 1. In the background are the lower Casey’s gas pumps, located in the vicinity of the King Tut Inn.

Photo 3: A circa 1920s image of the Women’s Rest Room (Photo from Jack Liljenberg's post in the Taylors Falls on the St. Croix Facebook group).

10/05/2026

Three (unnamed) people enjoying a picnic on the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix River, looking north. Photo is circa 1868.

10/01/2026

It’s International Coffee Day! In honor of this popular beverage, here are some photos of the 1892 Riley Sisters' house, which has been the location of Coffee Talk since 1995.

Photo 1: The Riley Sisters’ house, shortly after it was built in 1892. Sisters Mary and Martha can be seen on the porch.
Photo 2: 1904 photograph looking northwest at the west side of Bench (Main) Street; the Riley Sisters’ house is in the middle. To the left (south) is the 1857 Spengler building, which became the Taylors Falls Public Library in 1919. To the right (north) of the Riley Sisters' house is the 1882 Carl J. Anderson building; it was torn down in 1905.
Photo 3: 1988 photo from a Ledger Press newspaper article.
Photo 4: Coffee Talk during the 2025 Lighting Festival.

What's your favorite memory of Coffee Talk or this house? ☕

09/27/2026

This is a circa-1915 view in front of the Farmers Interstate Creamery, which was Taylors Falls' second creamery. The four males pictured (L to R) are Grant Heath, an unnamed butter maker, Klaus Schipper, and Carl Peter Moberg. The photograph was taken by A.D. Seeley, of Taylors Falls.

This red-brick, 1912 creamery building stood on the west side of Bench (Main) Street and near where is now the center of the 1994 Marmon Memorial Parkway (a municipal parking lot). The building was demolished in 1993.

09/23/2026

A view of the railroad track and passenger platform, looking southwest. The building in the foreground at the far right was the St. Paul & Duluth R.R. passenger depot (the third depot in Taylors Falls). The building was originally the c.1856 John L. Bullard House (a 1½ story, Greek Revival structure), which began as a private residence, then rented, and later sold to the railroad company. It served as the railroad depot from May 1881 to November 1902. It was torn down in late 1902 and replaced by the current building (now the TF Memorial Community Center).

Photo 2 shows a view of the same train depot. looking north. Posing for the photo are station agent William Everett and telegraph trainee Edith Tang. Just beyond the depot (to the left of Everett) is the Town House School, before it was moved across Government St to its current location.

09/16/2026

Now / Then: Taylors Falls depot

Photo 1: The last Taylors Falls depot, facing north, as it appeared circa 1915. This was the Northern Pacific R.R. depot, which was built in 1902 and operated until June 30, 1948 when the last train departed Taylors Falls.

After railroad service ended, the building became the Taylors Falls Memorial Community Center. The platform, rails, and bridges were removed and the rail line became a hiking trail.

Photos 2 and 3 show the depot/community center as it stands today.

09/05/2026

One of the ferries that operated on the St. Croix River before the first river bridge was built at Taylors Falls in 1856 was Richard Arnold's ferry at Taylors Falls.
Note the rates listed in Section 3 🐎🐄🏃
(Image by Jack P. Liljenberg).

Address

312 Government Street
Taylors Falls, MN
55084

Website

http://tfhistory.com/

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