Hastings - Prescott, Mississippi River

Carrying on downriver, the landscape begins to open, and ahead I spot a remarkable meeting of waters. The river widens as I leave Saint Paul behind, and soon the St. Croix River appears from the north. The difference is immediately clear. The Mississippi carries its usual muddy brown, heavy with silt from upriver, while the St. Croix spills down crystal-clear, sparkling in the sun. For a stretch, the two rivers run side by side, brushing against each other but keeping their identities, one murky, one pure, before finally merging into a single current that carries me farther south. The scene brings back memories of the “Meeting of the Waters” near Manaus, Brazil, where the dark Rio Negro and the sandy Amazon flow stubbornly alongside each other for several miles before finally blending. The St. Croix is the first major tributary to join the Mississippi, and together they form the state line between Minnesota and Wisconsin for much of their length.

Hastings on the Minnesota side comes into view first, perched on the bluff, while Prescott in Wisconsin settles along the riverbank. Just upstream from here once stood Nininger, a town that existed more in ambition than substance. In the mid-19th century, this trio of settlements became the focus of land speculation, with their overconfident founders imagining a future to rival that of Chicago. The financial crash of 1857 ended those dreams abruptly, and today Hastings and Prescott together hold a modest 25,000 people, a quiet echo of what might have been.

Hastings reveals its past through its buildings and riverfront. Not long before the turn of the 19th century, it famously built a spiral bridge with an ingenious looping ramp intended to slow horse-drawn traffic as it descended into town. It served well until motor vehicles grew too numerous for its narrow curves, and by 1951, both the ramp and the bridge were gone. 

Even today, Hastings stands out for its architecture, with some 63 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For instance, the William G. LeDuc House, with its Gothic Revival design, is still remarkably intact. Then there’s Minnesota’s second-oldest surviving county courthouse, built in the late 1800s in the Italian Villa style, which now serves as the city hall. Further inland is the Fasbender Clinic, its copper roof sweeping nearly to the ground like a protective shell, a distinctive example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work, the famed architect known for his innovative approach to design.

On my left, Prescott rests directly on the confluence, its shoreline almost wrapped around the place where the Mississippi and the St. Croix meet. There are several spots along its banks where people gather to watch the two rivers mingle. But nothing compares to being on the water and actually feeling the currents shift beneath the boat. In the logging era, Prescott thrived as a vital centre where enormous white pine rafts drifting down the St. Croix were assembled and managed before entering the Mississippi. Today, that intensity has mellowed. The town has settled into a quieter rhythm, known more for its boating culture and its easy access to the wild and scenic stretches of the St. Croix. Marinas, cafés, and gentle river paths give it a relaxed, unhurried feel.

Together, the two cities frame this remarkable junction of waters, one known for its architectural heritage, the other for its quiet river life, both shaped by the rivers that continue to guide me downstream.