Taylors Falls Scenic Boat Tour History

Prior to the first year of the Muller Boat Company in 1906, two brothers named Kennedy, rowed tourists around the Dalles of the St. Croix pointing out the famous rock formations. The story goes that the Kennedys became religious and would not take tourists for boat trips on Sundays. This being the best day for giving boat rides, they could not make a living. The park commissioner sent word to the Mullers in Stillwater and asked if one of the boys could come to Taylors Falls to give tourists rides through the Dalles. The Mullers sent Carl, their son, who was 16 at the time. (My great grandfather)

The first boat was the Pinafore, a small power boat that carried 8 passengers. In 1910 Carl Muller added canoes and row boats for rent. Some canoes were rented in Taylors Falls and were paddled down river, some all the way to Stillwater. Carl would drive the tour boat down the river after a day of tours and bring back the canoes late in the night. This was the start of the Taylors Falls Canoe Rental. Still in existence today, as the Taylors Falls Canoe & Kayak Rental.

Carl was successful in the business and soon needed a larger boat. His father then built the Duck. Carl was courting Katy Campbell at the time and Duck was her nickname. The Duck carried 32 people. In the early twenties a man named Carlson bought a 40’ boat carrying 60 passengers and started in competition with Carl. After a short time Carlson had a hard time operating the boat and Carl purchased The Dalles from Carlson. Business was getting good and Carl needed another boat so his father built the 40’ Robert C in 1925. Bob Muller (Robert C) son of Carl was seven at the time. Bob Muller is my grandfather and is still alive today. He will be 88 this summer.

In 1931 the Rivard family had the 47’ Dalles Showboat built. She was a much larger vessel and could carry over 100 passengers. Carl with two boats and a shallower draft made frequent trips and lowered the price. The competition could not make a go of it in these conditions and Carl bought the Dalles Showboat from the Rivards. Bob Muller was on the boats with his father all his free time and made his first trip with passengers when he was just 15. Carl and Bob worked the boats till Bob went in the Navy in 1943. Bob was back in late ’45 and things went along till 1959 when Bob aquired the boat company from his father.

In 1960 Dennis Raedeke married Bob’s daughter Cynthia (Cam) and joined the company in 1961. ( My parents) Things continued to go well and the three wood boats were getting old and needed to be replaced. In 1965 the 40’ steel hulled Kathy M (Bob’s daughter’s Name) was built. She was powered by a stern-drive, but carried a current driven, non-driving paddle wheel for appearance effect and was 48’ long over all.

In 1972 Dennis and Cam bought the local ski area, Val Croix, and renamed it Wild Mountain. By 1976 the ski area was taking much of Dennis’s time which made it difficult to work for the boat company. It was decided Dennis and Cam would buy the Muller Boat Co and use staff seasonally in the opposing seasons, summer on the boats and winter at Wild Mountain. Bob Muller continued to drive the boats through his 87 th year, assisted by manager, Mike Kelly, who was trained in by Bob Muller 24 years earlier.

In 1980 Dennis Raedeke built the 80’ Taylors Falls Queen in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. She was a much larger vessel that could carry 150 passengers with facilities for dinner cruises and large enough for wedding and receptions in times when the regular sight seeing trips weren’t scheduled. The shallow draft of the vessel and the functional paddle wheel, which actually drove the boat, allowed the boat to make a round trip of 7 miles downstream. As time went by the need for the older boats was eliminated by the newer ones. The Dalles was sawed up. The Robert C was sold to a man that used her on Lake Okoboji Iowa. The Dalles Showboat was donated to the sea scouts in Stillwater.

As business continued to grow we had a need for another boat. In 1985 Dennis Raedeke built another boat in La Crosse, WI. The Taylors Falls Princess she was 80’ and held 250 passengers. Even with her larger capacity, her ultralight aluminum construction and shallow draft, made her the superior passenger boat in seasonal, low-water conditions, on the St. Croix River.

In 1989 Cam and Dennis Raedeke retired from active management of the boat company and Wild Mountain to circumnavigate the world aboard their sailing catamaran, Wild Wind III. Their children Ronald, Daniel and Amy Raedeke took over the management of the companies in their absence.

In 1999 the Raedeke’s eldest son, Ron, decided to leave the company to pursue a career in engineering. Their son Dan, and daughter, Amy, have continued to run the Taylors Falls Scenic Boat Tours, Wild Mountain Recreation Area & the Taylors Falls Canoe & Kayak Rental since then.

The Muller Boat Company/Taylors Falls Scenic Boat Tours has continued to flourish over the years. We now provide scenic daily cruises, dinner cruises, student history cruises, box luncheons, weddings, receptions, and private charters aboard the Taylors Falls Queen and Princess, throughout the spring, summer, and fall seasons.