JULY 2025
Announcing a Historic New Project
I recently signed a contract with the University of Minnesota Press to write a "deep map" that will document this region in detail, sharing stories from across the 7,700-square mile basin that drains toward the St. Croix. It will:
- Identify the many natural forces that shape the land and its wildlife
- Take readers to unique places with stories to tell
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Look past the usual tropes of lumberjacks and settlers to the diverse peoples and communities that have created the place as we know it today
This project, already five years in the making, will require extensive field research and dedicated writing time in order to meet my July 2027 manuscript deadline. That means I have just two years to hunker down and write a comprehensive and compelling narrative!
The good news is that I’ve already begun the work. I’ve conducted extensive research, developed a detailed proposal with chapter summaries serving as my writing map, and written thousands of words of a first draft.
Over the next two years, I need to work on the book several days a week (don’t worry, St. Croix 360 will continue!). The considerable field research and writing I have already done has demonstrated its value. It’s also shown that this book will simply take a lot of time.
That’s where you come in. I need the support of people like you — people who love the St. Croix River region — to complete this project.
Help Write River History is a fundraising campaign to make this book possible. Please consider making a donation now.
This book will be enjoyed by many readers and will serve as a timeless tribute to one of the most spectacular places on the planet. In an era of rapid change and an uncertain future, I also believe this will be an important contribution to how we consider America’s past and present.
I am pleased to share that I have already secured some significant support. I have been chosen by the Science Museum of Minnesota as an Artist-in-Residence at Pine Needles this year, and will spend four weeks living and working at a historic cabin along the river. Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center in Sandstone has also generously provided me an artist residency, and I will have significant time to work at a cabin located there. I am also applying for other grants and residencies.
It’s a great start but I have a long way to go. Financial support from people who know my work and want to read this book has been an important part of the plan since I first began dreaming about writing it. I hope you will contribute whatever you can.
Thank you!
Greg Seitz