Welcome to Historic Afton Founded in 1855

A nineteenth century village on the bank of the beautiful St. Croix River.
(15 minutes east of St. Paul)

The historic village of Afton is nestled between wooded river bluffs and a protected scenic river, the lovely St. Croix. Some call Afton “nostalgic, friendly and quaintly charming.” Visitors in the mid-1800s were reminded of Robert Burns’ poem, “Flow Gently, Sweet Afton,” and thence came its name. Following French fur traders to the St. Croix Valley, New Englanders platted the Village in 1855, and influenced its simple, straightforward architecture. Clear drinking water still flows from the springs shown on the early plats. Some of the virgin pines still stand in its deep ravines. Wild flowers, deer, flying geese, and songbirds thrive here, along with wild berry bushes left from Afton’s early berry industry.