[3] St. Croix County is part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.

[4] St. Croix County was created on August 3, 1840,[5] by the legislature of the Wisconsin Territory.

According to another account, Father Hennepin gave this region the French name Ste Croix (Holy Cross) because of the burial markers at the river's mouth.

The tornado's damage path was 400 yards (370 m) wide and 46 miles (74 km) long.

The tornado formed on the banks of the St. Croix River, south of Hudson.

Moving to the northeast across St. Croix County, the tornado passed through the villages of Burkhardt and Boardman before striking New Richmond head on, leveling the entire business district and half the town's residences.

The storm continued northeast, narrowly missing the town of Deer Park before crossing into Polk County, where it narrowly missed the towns of Clear Lake, Richardson, and Clayton.

Largely thanks to state aid and donations, most of the town was rebuilt by the next winter.

[14] New Richmond Regional Airport (KRNH) serves the county and surrounding communities.