History of Lily Lake
Lily Lake is located in Stillwater, Minnesota. The lake received its name for its abundance of white waterlilies. Lily Lake is a 41-acre lake within the city limits of Stillwater.
When fishing, anglers can expect to catch a variety of fish including Black Bullhead, Bluegill, Brown Bullhead, Green Sunfish, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Sauger, Walleye, Yellow Perch, Pumpkinseed and. Lily Lake is a great fishing lake with easy access right in Stillwater. The adjacent park provides multiple recreational opportunities in addition to fishing.
Lily Lake Park is free, and there are restrooms, picnic tables, and multiple different ball courts. The park has a playground that is relatively wheelchair accessible.
People from St Paul would ride a train to the lake, which was known for its clarity and depth (50 feet in some spots). Once known as the Veteran’s Memorial Beach and Beach House was created in 1948 under the leadership of George Kunz. Prior to that, the local swimming beach was in the park on the east side of the St Croix River. The more recent 11-acre park and recreational complex (ice arena) was located on land purchased in three segments in 1922, 1951, and the late 1960s, and was completed in 1971.
The large ‘Connor House’ (east of the lake) was built around 1910. Local cavalry used to camp for training on the adjacent meadows that extended down to the lakeshore on this east side. The C N Nelson home (see banner picture) was torn down to build the current “Connor House” on the inside corner of Abbott and Owens streets.
A horse racing track existed to the south west of Lily Lake on what is currently Driving Park Road, where Dan Patch was rumored to have raced. A horse auction here in 1896 apparently sold 160 horses (see banner picture).
Ice was once ‘harvested’ by the St Croix Ice Company from the lake in winter, and shipped locally for food storage in warehouses, stores, and restaurants year-round. There are rumors that one of their large cutting machines sank into the lake.
The City, with the aid of the Historic Preservation Commission, commissioned a “History of Development” report about 15 years ago, to determine how surrounding developments might have affected the lake. (E.g. Mud from the lake bottom was dredged up to build the houses on Lake Drive on the north-west shore. The south end of the lake used to be a shallow portion of the lake that was a fish spawning place, which was filled to accommodate the park and ball fields.
Storm-water pipelines were installed from the pond east of Lily Lake Elementary School, and also from the Middle School playing fields.
The lake was ‘de-motorized’, except for electric motors, in 1980 under Ordinance No. 470 (updated on 1st Feb 2000 by City Code 48-3).
History of the Friends of Lily Lake (formerly Lily Lake Association)
In 1995 Linda Hargroder and Ed Cain spearheaded a Lily Lake Homeowners Group to request the city to remove weeds and algae. Early in 1996 Bill Ferke, Del Peterson and Gary Warren, further brought the demise of the lake water quality to the forefront of the City’s attention. Later Bill Fierke’s “Save Lily Lake Now” 1998 booklet presentation, included a diagram showing a depth decrease in the lake of 12 feet due to silt build-up.
The current organization was re-formed in 2013 as the Lily Lake Lake Association, again by Del Peterson and Gary Warren, primarily to further investigate the cause of excessive weed growth and to permanently reduce its sources and negative effects on the lake.
In 2021 the organization was renamed the "Friends of Lily Lake" to make it feel more inclusive and accessible to non lakeshore owners, especially those who have fond memories on or around Lily Lake, plus those who live in its surrounding neighborhoods and would like to participate in its care and enjoyment for themselves and many generations to come.
With the assistance of the Middle St Croix Watershed Organization and the City, the phosphorus reduction studies and remedies are now somewhat under control to remove Lily Lake from the State of Minnesota's "Impaired Waters List". Hence the organization is now moving on to envisage bringing back Lily Lake’s former ‘fame’ as the heart of the neighborhood.