About Cover Park Manor
The Cover Park Manor is located one mile south of Stillwater’s Historic Main Street in an area called the Village of Oak Park. This 1850’s home is privately located on over an acre of property and is bordered on the east by Cover Park and to the west by over 100 acres of Valley View Park and hiking trails. There is a two-mile scenic paved trail that leaves from behind the Manor and wanders through woods, prairie restoration areas and over a bridge through wetlands. Experience the luxury and privacy in each of our four guest suites, all with private baths, double whirlpools, private porches and fireplaces. As guests, you can hide away from it all or visit the many attractions of historic Stillwater, just minutes away, and the beautiful St. Croix River Valley.
History of the Manor
John Parker, an early Vermont river pilot on the St. Croix River, arrived in Oak Park in 1850 and purchased this property to build his home. Eight years later, he sold the house to David Cover, his brother-in-law, who also worked as a raft pilot (rivermen who skillfully piloted unwieldy rafts of logs downriver to sawmills). The rafts consisted of 10-12 strings of logs tied together by chains. In 1884, he established a sawmill in Oak Park, and in 1894 passed the home to his civil war hero son John Cover.
John Cover was one of the first to enlist in Company C, Eighth Minnesota regiment, in the summer of 1862; he achieved the rank of First Lieutenant. After the war, he joined a brother in the logging business and opened a meat market in downtown Stillwater.
Rex and Ruth Beach purchased the home in 1946. Rex was a well-known local musician and Ruth wrote a local-interest weekly newspaper column.
In 1993, the home was purchased by the Dougherty’s and in August was opened as the Cover Park Manor Bed & Breakfast.