This year, to celebrate Wannigan Day's
50th Anniversary, it was decided that the theme will
surround the 1950’s!
Everyone
enjoyed the parade, talent show, classic and muscle
car show, live music, Elvis impersonator, street vendors,
fireworks display, and much more.
Some
of the highlights of this years events include:
Special
Thanks to the St. Croix Falls Chamber of Commerce, the
City,
and local businesses for making Wannigan Days a Huge
Success!
What is a Wannigan?
A Wannigan could be described as a house boat, but they
were really more like floating shacks. They were built
25 to 30 ft. in length (some were bigger) and the cabin
may be large enough just to accommodate a cook and some
supplies. They
were built low to the water for stability on quick running
rivers.
In
the days when the St. Croix was used as a logging route,
Wannigans were used by the lumbermen. The "shanty-boat,"
which was much like houseboat, with sleeping accommodations
for the loggers during the logging drives.
However,
a true wannigan typically had an upper deck and was
much more unstable. It would only be safe only in slow
waters such lakes and calm rivers. These were generally
maneuvered by poles and were popular for towing.
Wannigan
Days celebrates the history of the St. Croix River Valley.
St. Croix Falls and Taylors Falls were busy stops for
the men who worked the saws, logs, and the river.
Many
times on the St. Croix River, the logs would get jammed
tight into the many turns of the river.
Men
had to be quick to blast the logs free to avoid a massive,
and dangerous, jam that could halt all traffic on the
river.
This
was a scenario that happen from time to time. Many times
the men would use dynamite to blast free the jam and
get things moving again.
