No one knows for sure how the St. Croix Riverway got its name, but there are 2 theories, both based on the travels along here by the explorer LaSueur in the late 1600s. One suggests that he had a crewmember named St. Croix who might have died during the voyage. Others think that LaSueur saw a rock formation among the bluffs that was shaped like a cross, and named the river "Croix" from the French "cross." This rock formation can still be seen from the river today.