The Banfill-Locke Tavern stands at the confluence of Rice Creek and the Mississippi River in an area formed by the Superior and Grantsburg glaciers approximately 10,000 years ago, where a glacial lake shaped most of the Rice Creek Watershed and the Mississippi River from St. Cloud to Minneapolis. Many Native American cultures made much of the upper Mississippi River their homeland and called this area Manomin, a Chippewa name for wild rice, and a few Native American artifacts have been found here while areas within the park have received preservation status. Built in 1847 as a two story Greek Revival style building, the tavern was used by John Banfill, a retired Colonel and the state's first Auditor, as an inn for area loggers and fur traders traveling along the Red River Trail, and it also served as a general store and later as the Post Office for the town of Manomin. Travelers on the Red River Trail made camp here, and Banfill also owned a flour milling operation. In 1876 Laura M. Locke and William Brown purchased the building and used it as their home, while the surrounding area supported their dairy operation. In 1912 Laura sold the home to her brother Cassius M. Locke, who continued the dairy operation and used it as his summer home. The land was also later used as a camp for the Boy Scouts. Anoka County purchased the home and surrounding property for park purposes in 1967, the home was included in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, and in 1995 the county received a matching grant from the Department of Natural Resources for redevelopment of Manomin County Park.