Washington County Communities

Afton Historic Afton's geography includes trees, plateaus, valleys, limestone mounds, coulees, glens, farmland, creeks, and a sparkling river.	Bayport Home to Andersen Windows, one of the most successful businesses in Washington County.
Baytown Township Home to the Washington County Fairgrounds and Lake Elmo airport.	Birchwood As streetcar lines reached the White Bear Lake area, cottage developments gave St. Paul residents an opportunity to own a summer home.
Cottage Grove Most of Cottage Grove’s early settlers came from New England. They recreated the East’s Greek Revival architecture and style of government, giving the township the nickname “New England of the West.”	Dellwood The wealthiest city in Minnesota, Dellwood began as the summer home of some of St. Paul's prominent families.
Denmark Township At the southeastern corner of Washington County, Denmark Township remains primarily an agricultural community.	Forest Lake First created as a railroad stop, Forest Lake became a popular summer resort destination.
Grant Established as Greenfield Township in 1858, Grant has retained its rural character.	Grey Cloud Island Township Grey Cloud Island's settlement extends back thousands of years.
Hugo Originally Oneka Township, this French settlement grew into a village with the arrival of the railroad, and later Highway 61.	Lake Elmo Still known for its rural character, Lake Elmo was also one of Minnesota's first resort destinations.
Lakeland First built around the site of a ferry to Hudson, Lakeland later became a successful milling town.	Lakeland Shores Quiet and residential, Lakeland Shores split off from Lakeland in 1949.
Lake St. Croix Beach One of the last Washington County river communities to develop, early automobiles brought summer residents in search of recreation.	Landfall A mobile home park with about 700 people on fewer than 50 acres, Landfall is the county's smallest community.
Mahtomedi Mahtomedi's rich history includes Chautauquas, Depression-era gangsters, and Wildwood Amusement Park, on the east shore of White Bear Lake.	Marine on St. Croix Site of the first sawmill in what is now Minnesota, Marine on St. Croix looks today very much like it did in the 19th century.
May Township Created in 1893 from the southern half of Marine, the township is named after prosperous farmer and early resident Morgan May.	Newport Newport began as two separate settlements, one of which, then called Red Rock, was settled shortly after the land was purchased by the U.S. government in 1837.
Oakdale One of Washington County's original townships, Oakdale is now a fast-growing suburb.	Oak Park Heights First formed as a lumber town, Oak Park Heights' 20th century history is tied to the highways—built and proposed—that pass through it.
Pine Springs Formed in 1959, Pine Springs is a small, entirely residential community of about 140 homes bordering Long Lake on the county's western border.	Scandia Scandia is best known as the home of the first Swedish settlers in Minnesota—a settlement that dates from 1850.
Stillwater The county seat and center of the 19th-century lumber industry.	Stillwater Township One of the first townships in Washington County, Stillwater Township was formed in 1858.
St. Mary's Point After its sawmill burned down, St. Mary's Point turned into a near ghost town. But in the early 20th century, it found a new life as a summer home for residents of St. Paul.	St. Paul Park Created from empty fields in less than two years, St. Paul Park could boast several factories in the late 1880s, before the panic of 1893 put an end to many ambitions.
West Lakeland Township When Lakeland incorporated as a village in 1951, West Lakeland Township was split off and organized.	Willernie Created in 1914 as a summer village adjacent to Wildwood Amusement Park, slightly more than 1,000 people live in Willernie today.
Woodbury In just a few decades, Woodbury has turned from a rural farming community to one of the Twin Cities' major suburbs.