Morrison County Historical Society

THE MORRISON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY IS DEDICATED TO THE PRESERVATION AND SHARING OF MORRISON COUNTY'S HISTORY.

THE MORRISON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (MCHS) IS A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO COLLECTING, PRESERVING AND SHARING MORRISON COUNTY HISTORY. IT OWNS AND OPERATES THE CHARLES A. WEYERHAEUSER MEMORIAL MUSEUM IN LITTLE FALLS, MN.IN FEBRUARY OF 2022, THE MUSEUM HOSTED ITS ANNUAL EXPLORING HISTORY AND CULTURE IN CENTRAL MINNESOTA FEBRUARY EVENTS SERIES. THE SERIES BRINGS TOGETHER FOUR CENTRAL MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETIES, MORRISON, BENTON, SHERBURNE, AND STEARNS, TO COLLABORATE ON PROGRAMMING RELATED TO SPECIFIC CULTURES WITHIN THE REGION AND STATE. THIS YEAR FEATURED PROGRAMMING FROM THE HILL MUSEUM AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY OUT OF ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY IN COLLEGEVILLE, MN. ALSO IN FEBRUARY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MARY WARNER RESIGNED FROM HER POSITION AFTER SERVING THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOR 25 YEARS. DURING THIS PERIOD OF TRANSITION, MUSEUM ASSISTANT GRACE DUXBURY EARNED THE NEW TITLE OF MUSEUM MANAGER, DUE TO A SHIFT IN DUTIES. CAMILLE WARZECHA WAS APPOINTED INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.IN MARCH, LINDA BRYAN HELD A LECTURE AT MCHS DISCUSSING THE AYER SCHOOL AT BELLE PRAIRIE AND ITS PLACE WITHIN THE LARGER HISTORY OF WHITE SETTLEMENT, CERTAIN PROTESTANT MISSIONS, WINNEBAGO AND OJIBWE TREATIES, AND THE WANING INDIAN TRADE. SHORTLY AFTER THAT, HISTORIC REENACTOR JOEL BROWN VISITED MCHS TO DISCUSS GEORGE BONGA AND HIS LINEAGE AS THE FIRST PERSON OF AFRICAN DESCENT IN MINNESOTA, AND HIS CONNECTION TO THE FUR TRADE.AFTER A LONG AND THOROUGH SEARCH, MIKE WORCESTER WAS CHOSEN AS THE NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FROM A POOL OF CANDIDATES AND BEGAN HIS WORK ON MAY 11. MIKE HAS WORKED WITH MCHS IN THE PAST. HE HAS SERVED ON OUR BOARD SINCE 2020, AND WORKED AS A CONTRACT ARCHIVAL CONSULTANT, HELPING US WORK THROUGH SOME OF OUR LARGER COLLECTIONS.IN APRIL, ANN MARIE JOHNSON RESIGNED AS MCHS PRESERVATIONIST AFTER 23 YEARS. TAKING OVER HER ROLE WAS AMY MANN, WHO HAD BEEN HIRED LAST YEAR ON A TEMPORARY BASIS TO COMPLETE OUR MUSSER GRANT. ONCE SHE COMPLETED HER GRANT HOURS, SHE TRANSITIONED INTO A FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE WITH THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY UNDER THE TITLE OF COLLECTIONS MANAGER AND HAS BEEN MAKING GREAT PROGRESS IN HER NEW ROLE.APRIL ALSO SAW THE OPENING OF OUR TEMPORARY EXHIBIT IN COLLABORATION WITH PHOTOGRAPHER ANTHONY MARCHETTI: "GOOD PEOPLE: A PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION OF MORRISON COUNTY." IN 2018, MARCHETTI BEGAN PHOTOGRAPHING IN MORRISON COUNTY. MONTHLY TRIPS LED TO CONNECTIONS AND PRELIMINARY PHOTOGRAPHIC WORK. AS HE GAINED TRUST OF RESIDENTS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE POLITICAL DIVIDE, HE LEARNED MORE ABOUT THEIR LIFESTYLES AND VALUES, PASSIONS AND FEARS. THE EXHIBIT RAN UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR, WITH POSITIVE RECEPTION FROM LOCAL RESIDENTS WHO WERE PROUD TO SEE THEMSELVES REPRESENTED IN SUCH A FORMAL MEDIUM AS MARCHETTI'S PHOTOGRAPHY.DID A CONTROLLED BURN OF OUR PRAIRIE GARDEN ACROSS FROM OUR PARKING LOT, MADE POSSIBLE BY THE FRANCISCAN SISTERS OF LITTLE FALLS' ONE PLANET FUND.HOSTED TOURS OF THE WARREN/MACDOUGALL HOMESTEAD ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE IN MAY IN COLLABORATION WITH ROB MANN OUT OF ST. CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY.IN JULY, MCHS RECEIVED AN ADDITIONAL MUSSER GRANT TO CONTINUE OUR MUCH-NEEDED ACCESSIONING PROCESS, THIS TIME HIRING SYLVIA SANDSTROM TO ASSIST AMY IN HER DUTIES. THE TWO OF THEM HAVE BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE YEAR. THEIR MAJOR PROJECT THUS FAR WAS GETTING THE R.D. MUSSER LIBRARY CLEARED OF COLLECTIONS BOXES AND MAKING IT ACCESSIBLE FOR PUBLIC USE. THE LIBRARY HAD BEEN FILLED DURING THE CHAOS OF THE MOBILE SHELVING INSTALLATION, AND COLLECTIONS SAT IN WAITING THERE FOR OVER A YEAR, BUT NOW IT HAS BEEN RESTORED TO ITS FORMER GLORY, IF NOT BETTER! THEY CULLED ANY UN-ACCESSIONED BOOKS THAT DID NOT SERVE MCHS'S MISSION, AND SYLVIA CREATED AN ORGANIZATION SYSTEM TO HELP VISITORS FIND EACH CATEGORY. IT'S POSITIVELY COZY, AND VISITORS HAVE BEEN ENJOYING BEING ABLE TO PERUSE OUR VAST BOOK COLLECTION.IN SEPTEMBER MCHS HELD ITS ANNUAL MEETING AT CAMP RIPLEY'S TOWN HALL, AND INCLUDED A LECTURE BY TODD HOLMAN, THE MISSISSIPPI HEADWATERS PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR THE MINNESOTA, NORTH DAKOTA, AND SOUTH DAKOTA CHAPTER OF THE NATURE CONSERVANCY. HE TALKED ABOUT HIS WORK WITH CAMP RIPLEY SENTINEL LANDSCAPE MAKING A CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL GEODATABASE THAT INCLUDES OF PARTS OF CASS, CROW WING, MORRISON, AND TODD COUNTIES.MCHS COMPLETED ITS CONTRACT WITH RETHOS: PLACES REIMAGINED THIS YEAR. CLASSES INCLUDED "MID-CENTURY MODERN: CONCRETE AND MORE," "HISTORIC FINISHES CLASS ON VARNISHES, STAINS, DYES AND WAX," "ROBINSON STANTON HOUSE TOUR, AND "GINGERBREAD ARCHITECTURE: THE SWEET ELEMENTS OF DESIGN."PUBLISHED 4 NEWSLETTERS, FEATURING ARTICLES SUCH AS THE FINAL PART OF "VERNON PICK: TWO RIVERS MILL TO DELTA URANIUM MINE," "A NICE, EVEN HEAT," "COLLECTION CONNECTION OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS RECORDS," "FIRST MINNESOTA REGIMENT HAS HONORED PLACE IN CIVIL WAR HISTORY," "WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW CAN'T HURT YOUNOT!" "COLLECTIONS CONNECTION: MACDOUGALL FARMSTEAD," THE TWO-PART SERIES "THE LICENSE QUESTION IN MORRISON COUNTY," "RECYCLING DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, REFERRED TO AS SALVAGE," "BLANCHARD DAM: A RICH ECOLOGY IN CENTRAL MINNESOTA," "DR. L.M. ROBERTS' PHARMACEUTICAL CASE, AND MUCH MORE!MCHS STAFF ASSISTED ON AND OFF-SITE RESEARCHERS IN ANSWERING THEIR RESEARCH QUESTIONS.MAINTAINED AN ACTIVE ONLINE PRESENCE VIA OUR BLOG/WEBSITE, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, AND YOUTUBE.GREW THE MCHS COLLECTIONS THROUGH DONATIONS FROM MEMBERS AND FRIENDS.NUMBER OF MEMBERS IN 2022: 167NUMBER OF COLLECTIONS DONORS: 15NUMBER OF RESEARCHERS: 143NUMBER OF VISITORS: 1871NUMBER OF WEBSITE VISITORS: 193,354