Editing Princeton, Minnesota (section)

==History==
In the winter of 1855 Samuel Ross, Jame W. Gillian, [[Dorilus Morrison]], John S. Prince and Richard Chute platted the town of Princeton. The plat was officially recorded on April 19, 1856.<ref name=centennial>''Princeton Centennial.'' #Ptown, Minn.: Princeton Centennial Committee. 1956.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Upham|first=Warren|title=Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance|url=https://archive.org/details/minnesotageogra00uphagoog|year=1920|publisher=Minnesota Historical Society|page=[https://archive.org/details/minnesotageogra00uphagoog/page/n364 345]}}</ref>

===Lumbering===
Princeton's location near the junction of the Rum River and its West Branch was critical to the town's development. In 1847, Daniel Stanchfield led an expedition to explore the Rum River.<ref name=centennial/> The group discovered vast [[Pinus strobus|white pine]] forests upstream from Princeton's future site along the Rum River, the West Branch Rum River, and their tributaries. Three sawmills were built in Princeton between 1856 and 1867. Lumbermen floated logs down the Rum River to the Princeton mills, though most of the logs passed through Princeton to mills in [[Minneapolis]].

===Brickmaking===
Brick-making was another important industry in the Princeton area. The industry developed about two miles northeast of Princeton near beds of clay. A community known as Brickton formed in the location. From 1889 through the late 1920s several brickyards operated in Brickton, collectively producing as many as 20 million bricks per year.<ref name=centennial/> When the brick industry declined, Brickton ceased to exist. "Years after the last brick had been shipped from Brickton, specifications in contracts for construction of public buildings often stated that it should be of Princeton brick or of equally good quality."<ref name=centennial/>

===Other===
Other important industries in Princeton's early years included wheat farming (before potatoes became primary),<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.princetonmn.org |title = City of Princeton, Minnesota}}</ref> potato farming, starch production, dairy, and distilled spirits production, in which the town's distillery continues to play a key role.