Valley Creek, sometimes called Bolles Creek, is a small stream in Washington County, Minnesota

Washington County, Minnesota

Washington County is a county established in 1849 in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 238,136. Its county seat is Stillwater.-History:...

. It is one of the few remaining trout

Trout

Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...

 streams in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area

Metropolitan area

The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...

. Approximately 10 miles long, the stream begins in Woodbury, Minnesota

Woodbury, Minnesota

Woodbury is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States, and is a suburb of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. It is situated east of Saint Paul along Interstate 94...

 and flows into the St. Croix River

St. Croix River (Wisconsin-Minnesota)

The St. Croix River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The lower of the river form the border between Wisconsin and Minnesota. The river is a National Scenic Riverway under the protection of the National Park Service. A...

 at Afton, Minnesota

Afton, Minnesota

Afton is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,886 at the 2010 census. It is located on a small bay where Valley Creek empties into the St. Croix River several miles north of the confluence with the Mississippi River....

.
Valley Creek is notable as the location of the first private gristmill

Gristmill

The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...

 in Minnesota. It was built in 1846 by Lemuel Bolles several hundred feet upstream from the confluence

Confluence

Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...

with the St. Croix. Bolles' nephew, Erastus Bolles, built an additional mill and a blacksmith shop further upstream.