Kinnickinnic River (St. Croix River)

The Kinnickinnic River, called the Kinni for short, is a 22-mile-long (35 km) river in northwestern Wisconsin in the United States. The Kinni is a cold water fishery supporting a population of native Brook Trout and naturally reproducing Brown Trout.

The Kinnickinnic River is officially designated as a Class I trout stream by the WI DNR, indicating it is a "high quality" trout water that has sufficient natural reproduction to sustain populations of wild trout, at or near carrying capacity. The Kinnickinnic is also designated as an Outstanding Resource Water (ORW) by the WI DNR both above State HWY 35, and below the Powell Falls Dam, however, the stretch of the Kinni through the City of River Falls is not included in this designation where the river is impounded into two reservoirs which do not support a fishery. This ORW designation indicates the Kinni provides outstanding recreational opportunities, supports valuable fisheries and wildlife habitat, has good water quality, and is not significantly impacted by human activities. This designation indicates that the State of Wisconsin has determined the Kinnickinnic River warrants additional protection from the effects of pollution. These designations are intended to meet federal Clean Water Act obligations requiring Wisconsin to adopt an “antidegradation” policy that is designed to prevent any lowering of water quality – especially in those waters having significant ecological or cultural value.

The city of River Falls, Wisconsin, which was named after the historic Junction Falls waterfall on the Kinnickinnic River, is situated on the river where the main branch of the Kinnickinnic River and the South Fork of the Kinnickinnic River have their confluence. The name Kinnickinnic is a word from the Ojibwe giniginige, and refers to tobacco mixed with other plant material for smoking.

The first settler of European descent along the Kinnickinnic River was Judge Joel Foster. He first settled in the area over the winter of 1848-1849 in a walled-in cave overhang at the confluence of the main channel and the South Fork of the Kinnickinnic River. Foster wrote about the two Native American tribes inhabiting the region—the Sioux and the Chippewa. He noted that both placed such value on the St. Croix River Valley that neither claimed it for themselves. Two brothers, Nathaniel N. and Oliver Stanley Powell, also claimed land in the vicinity in 1849. They built the first commercial structure in the City of River Falls in 1852 along the banks of the Kinnickinnic River. Foster built a sawmill and dam in 1854 which was later expanded to include a feed store and was located on the south bank of the Kinnickinnic River. Later that year, the firm of Crossman & Hart constructed a brickyard on the southern edge of the growing community along the Kinnickinnic. Four flour mills with dams in the Kinnickinnic River were established in the City of River Falls. The first was built in 1855 by C.B. Cox, who later built another mill known as the Prairie Mill, located on the west side of North Main Street.

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Wikipedia