Family offers Outlot H to Stillwater Area Public Schools for historic site, marker

Bob Kroning, a descendant of longtime local families, told the Stillwater Area Public Schools Board that his family wants to donate a small parcel known as Outlot H to the district so it can be preserved and interpreted as a local historic site.

Kroning presented maps and historical photographs showing the parcel’s relationship to Rutherford Elementary School, Manning Avenue and Highway 12, and the former Saint Paul–Stillwater streetcar line. He said the family’s aim is to keep the land as green space in perpetuity and to create an interpretive display — potentially including a short stretch of track, overhead poles and signage — that would help walkers and bicyclists understand the neighborhood’s 19th- and early-20th-century history.

"The family would like to donate Out Lot H to the school district as a non profit, so that it could qualify for grants and other funding to preserve the site and marker," Kroning said. He described working with Aaron Isaacs, executive director of the Minnesota Streetcar Museum, and local historians to develop plans and to lead fundraising. Kroning said the project team expects to seek foundation grants and that the district would not be asked for funds: "No. We're asking for $0 from the school district. This is all the funding is on us," he said.

Why it matters: The parcel sits adjacent to Rutherford Elementary and a county bike-and-walk trail and contains remnants of the old streetcar bed. Board members noted the potential educational tie to the elementary school and suggested next steps would include district legal review and staff coordination about formally accepting the donation.

Details and questions from the board and audience focused on access and maintenance. Board members asked whether the short track and signage would be directly accessible from the existing trail. Kroning said the exhibit would be adjacent to the trail with signage for passersby and room for people to pull off and walk along the track area. Kroning also described plans to clear trees from the fill, expose an existing cattle pass, and install durable, low‑maintenance interpretive elements.

Next steps discussed at the meeting included a formal offer of the parcel to the district, review by district legal staff of any donation agreement, and a future follow-up presentation with more-specific engineering, fundraising and maintenance plans. Kroning volunteered to help with grant paperwork and fundraising and said community partners — including the Minnesota Streetcar Museum and the Washington County Historical Society — would assist with the project.

The presentation was part of the board’s strategic-direction item on developing partnerships with the communities the district serves. Board members generally received the concept positively and invited the proposers to return with more detailed plans for review and any required legal documents.