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. THE MUSEUM WAS OPEN BY APPOINTMENT ONLY IN FEBRUARY 2021, AFTER BEING CLOSED THROUGH JANUARY DUE TO GOVERNOR TIM WALZ'S PANDEMIC GUIDELINES FOR NON-ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES. DURING THAT TIME, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MARY WARNER RE-WROTE THE MUSEUM'S ARTICLES AND BYLAWS TO FIT CURRENT NEEDS OF THE ORGANIZATION. THE AMENDED ARTICLES AND BYLAWS CAN BE FOUND ON OUR MUSEUM WEBSITE. DURING THE FEBRUARY SHUTDOWN, 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 MINNESOTA AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE MUSEUM AND LIBRARY, WITH LECTURES HELD OVER ZOOM. THE LONG PROCESS OF REPLACING THE MUSEUM'S OLD HVAC (HEATING, VENTILATION, AIR CONDITIONING) SYSTEM ALSO BEGAN IN FEBRUARY WITH A CHECK FOR ASBESTOS IN THE OLD SYSTEM, AND THANKFULLY NONE WAS FOUND. THE EMPTY FUEL OIL TANK BURIED ON MUSEUM GROUNDS WAS REMOVED BY BURSKI EXCAVATING. REPLACED ANOTHER EXTERIOR DOOR, IN ADDITION TO THE TWO INSTALLED IN 2020. ONCE AGAIN, THE DOOR WAS SPECIALLY MADE AND INSTALLED BY KAMPMANN SASH & DOOR IN BRAINERD, MN. SECTIONS OF THE MUSEUM WERE PAINTED BY VOLUNTEERS. MARY WARNER AND PRESERVATIONIST ANN MARIE JOHNSON MET WITH ROB MANN AT ST. CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY IN APRIL TO TOUR THE PROGRESS ON ORGANIZING THE DOUG BIRK COLLECTION, INCLUDING MCHS'S ARTIFACTS FROM THE LITTLE ELK HERITAGE PRESERVE. DISCUSSIONS OF A PERMANENT LOAN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TWO ORGANIZATIONS BEGAN. THE MUSEUM REOPENED TO THE PUBLIC ON JUNE 3, AT THE TIME FOLLOWING THE CDC GUIDELINE THAT ANY UNVACCINATED VISITOR STILL HAD TO WEAR A MASK. RECEIVED MUSSER GRANT TO ALLOW FOR THE TEMPORARY HIRING OF A COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT TO HELP WITH ACCESSIONING THE BACKLOG OF MUSEUM ARTIFACTS. AMY MANN WAS HIRED FOR THIS ROLE AND BEGAN IN SEPTEMBER. THE MUSEUM CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC IN OCTOBER IN ORDER TO PREPARE FOR THE INSTALLATION OF THE NEW HVAC SYSTEM BY MCDOWALL COMPANY. INSTALLATION BEGAN ON OCTOBER 4TH AND FINISHED EARLY NOVEMBER. CREATED AN EXHIBIT IN COLLABORATION WITH THE LITTLE FALLS SUMMER MUSICAL ON THE UNSOLVED 1905 MURDER OF DARLING RESIDENT ANNIE KINTOP, FOR THEIR PLAY "DARLING." HOSTED IN-PERSON EVENTS INCLUDING A BEADMAKING WORKSHOP, WHICH INCLUDED LIVE MUSIC BY DENNIS WARNER, AND THE MCHS ANNUAL MEETING, WHICH INCLUDED THE PROGRAM "MORRISON COUNTY ARCHAEOLOGY & THE DOUGLAS BIRK COLLECTION" BY ROB MANN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY AT ST. CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY. HELD AN ONLINE CLASS ON HOW TO USE ZOOM. MCHS CONTINUED ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH RETHOS: PLACES REIMAGINED (FORMERLY PRESERVATION ALLIANCE OF MINNESOTA) TO SERVE AS THEIR CENTRAL MINNESOTA EDUCATION COORDINATOR, ARRANGING VARIOUS CLASSES TO TEACH HISTORIC PRESERVATION SKILLS WITHIN THE COUNTIES OF MORRISON, SHERBURNE, STEARNS, AND BENTON. CLASSES AND EVENTS INCLUDED "BRICK BY BRICK: BUILDING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT THROUGH HISTORY," "BUILDING PERMITS PRIMER," "DOOR AND WINDOW REPAIR WORKSHOP," "KEEPING THE WEATHER OUT: HOMEOWNER HOW-TOS, AND "GINGERBREAD ARCHITECTURE: THE SWEET ELEMENTS OF DESIGN." PUBLISHED 4 NEWSLETTERS, FEATURING ARTICLES SUCH AS THE CONCLUDING TWO PARTS OF "THE SEARCH FOR RACHEL CAREW," "LINDQUIST FAMILY ICE SKATES," "AUTOGRAPH ALBUM," "COLLEEN: AN IRISH LOVE SONG," "HANDKERCHIEF FROM LIK-NU CLEANERS OF LITTLE FALLS," "VERNON PICK: TWI RIVERS MILL TO DELTA URANIUM MINE," "25 YEARS AT MCHS," "TINTYPES," "ANNIE KINTOP EXHIBIT," "GHOSTS AND FRAUDS: SPIRITUALISM IN MORRISON COUNTY, AND "COLLECTIONS IN WAITING."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 2021: 386NUMBER OF COLLECTIONS DONORS: 30NUMBER OF RESEARCHERS: 139NUMBER OF VISITORS: 561NUMBER OF WEBSITE VISITORS: 62,648