This list of museums in Minnesota encompasses museums which are defined for this context as institutions (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Non-profit and university art galleries are also included.
Private museums which are not regularly open to the public and virtual museums which exist only online are not included.
Honors the early days of the 3M corporation in the office building in which it was founded in 1902. Operated by 3M and the Lake County Historical Society.[4]
Originally built in 1908, the former two-story public schoolhouse was the old school for Independent School District # 76. The first floor of this two story building is a museum; the second floor is preserved as the original school room. It is under the care of the City of Lonsdale.
Adams Area History Center is located in the historic First National Bank of Adams located on Main Street in Adams, Minnesota and is home to a variety of collections and research materials. Operated by the Adams Area Historical Society.[5][6]
Period displays, artifacts, and photographs of local history and agriculture, plus a research library. Operated by the Afton Historical Society in an 1868 church building.[7]
Opened in 1984, the museum contains artifacts and photographs from Akeley's early days as home to the largest sawmill in Minnesota. Operated by the Paul Bunyan Historical Society.[10]
1853 house of fur trader and town founder Alexander Faribault, with artifacts from the Faribault family and contemporaneous settlers. Operated by the Rice County Historical Society.[11]
Military artifacts and relics from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold War to the current Middle-East Wars.[13][14]
The Amador Heritage Center was established in 1978. Local memorabilia and replica structures housed in a 1910 school, with an adjacent collection of historic buildings.[15]
The Andrew Peterson Farmstead is a farm east of Waconia, Minnesota. Peterson worked substantially with the development of apple trees. His farm was one of the first research stations for what would become the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Owned and operated by the Carver County Historical Society.[19][20]
Gage Family Art Gallery, Christensen Center Art Gallery, and Student Art Gallery at Augsburg University displaying work by contemporary artists as well as students, alumni, and faculty.[26]
World's only museum and research library devoted to the medical uses of electricity and magnetism, established by pioneering biomedical engineer Earl Bakken. Housed in a 1928 mansion.[28]
Bally Blacksmith Shop, was built in 1911 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. In 2013 the Cook County Historical Society acquired the building and operates it as a museum. Grand Marais, Minnesota, USA.[29][30]
Operated by the Mahnomen County Historical Society, the museum contains a country school, an old kitchen, and agricultural artifacts dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s.[33][34]
The Bell Gallery was moved from Wilson Library to the ground floor of the Elmer L. Andersen Library at the University of Minnesota, East Bank Campus. The gallery features exhibits on a variety of historical topics developed at Elmer L. Andersen Library.[36]
The state's official natural history museum, established in 1872 for research and display of the state's plants and animals. Operated by the University of Minnesota, the museum is home to world renowned wildlife dioramas, the first discovery room in North America, and state-of-the-art digital planetarium. The museum opened a new building on the U of M St. Paul Campus in 2018.[37]
Facing childhood homes of Maude Hart Lovelace and her best friend, fictionalized by the author in her Betsy-Tacy series. Operated by the Betsy-Tacy Society.[43]
Arts center colocated in Bloomington City Hall. Features two art galleries. The Inez Greenberg Gallery is the larger of the two galleries and is typically used for group shows. The Atrium Gallery is located on the upper level of the center and is used for solo shows.[48]
Exhibits on Blue Earth County history, including Dakota heritage, Mankato's classic Front Street, and author Maud Hart Lovelace. Operated by the Blue Earth County Historical Society.[49]
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places the former B'nai Abraham Synagogue provides a history of Virginia's Jewish community and is local venue for summer musical and cultural events.[50][51]
Memorabilia of a Swedish American community—including a 1928 REO Speed Wagon firetruck—displayed in a 1913 house. Operated by the Upsala Area Historical Society.[53][54]
Housed the former First Baptist Church of Bricelyn the museum houses collections on local history and is maintained by the Bricelyn Area Historical Society.
Exhibits on Brown County history, including local Century Farms, artist Wanda Gág, and the Dakota War of 1862. Operated by the Brown County Historical Society in an ornate 1910 post office.[55]
Includes 11 buildings dating back to 1891 on a 22-acre prairie. Exhibits include a display of farm equipment and exhibits on milking and of early Maplewood history, including Gladstone and the 3M corporation.[56]
Displays on Cass County history, including the fur trade, lumbering, transportation, and early pioneers, plus a large collection of Ojibwe artifacts and a 1912 schoolhouse; operated by the Cass County Historical Society.[63]
Displays on Cass County history, including the fur trade, lumbering, transportation, and early pioneers, plus a large collection of Ojibwe artifacts and a 1912 schoolhouse; operated by the Cass County Historical Society.[63]
The building, built in 1898, and owned by the City of Chanhassen recently is occupied by the Chanhassen Historical Society for use as a museum. Before that the building has housed the Chanhassen Chamber of Commerce, a library, antique store and book store in addition to being a township governmental building.[64][65]
Permanent and rotating exhibits on Morrison County history, including Native American artifacts, local business and industry, and personal and household items; operated by the Morrison County Historical Society.[67]
Interprets the natural and cultural history of the Gunflint Trail area. Operated by the Gunflint Trail Historical Society and Superior National Forest in a 1930s resort lodge.[72]
The museum features exhibits on the county's history, including its early settlement by Swedish immigrants, its agricultural past, and the development of resort communities around Chisago Lakes. Former home to the North Chisago Historical Society before merger with the Chisago Historical Society. [73]
Built in 1872 the former Episcopal church building is listed on the NRHP and is maintained by the Faribault County Historical Society for concerts, events and tours.[75]
Located along the third-base side of CHS Field the museum showcases the evolution of the game through five eras in St. Paul. It also features a "Black Pioneers" exhibit highlighting the contributions of African-American ballplayers who were from St. Paul or played in the city.
Rotating exhibits and research collections on Clearwater County history; operated by the Clearwater County Historical Society in a 1911 school with additional historical buildings on the grounds.[76]
Now a museum, the Cokato Temperance Hall was a historic clubhouse built in 1896 to serve as an alcohol-free social center in a rural Finnish American community. Maintained by the Cokato Finnish American Historical Society.[20]
The Commemorative Air Force Minnesota Wing is home to six aircraft, a large motor pool fleet, and a unique collection of World War II artifacts that are on display at Fleming Field in South Saint Paul.[79]
Displays on Cottonwood County history from precontact Native Americans to the early 20th century, plus an art gallery and research library; operated by the Cottonwood County Historical Society.[82]
Interprets an underground iron mine on the Cuyuna Range active 1916–1934, with original equipment and structures, vintage photographs, and guided tours of a simulated mine.[70]
Exhibits and period rooms relating to settlement around the Cross River, plus a research archive. Operated by the Schroeder Area Historical Society in a 1929 Tudor Revival inn.[83]
Collection of historical and replica log buildings, including several homesteader cabins, a saloon, a tourist cabin, and a 1923 town hall with local artifacts displayed inside. Operated by the Crosslake Area Historical Society.[84][85]
22 historical and replica buildings depicting a typical Dakota County village of the year 1900, plus a museum of agriculture and pioneer life; operated by a non-profit organization on the Dakota County Fairgrounds.[88]
Permanent and rotating exhibits on local contributions to agriculture and medicine—including the transformation of ergot from plague to drug—and farmer-turned-politician Magnus Johnson. Operated by the Dassel Area Historical Society in a 1937 agricultural laboratory.[90]
The Dawson Bank Museum is a bank operating inside of the former First National Bank Building in Dawson, Minnesota featuring an archive and collections of local area history.
Displays on the development of Lake County, with a focus on iron mining, railroads, logging, and commercial fishing. Operated by the Lake County Historical Society in a 1907 train station.[96]
Visual arts organization dating to 1871, offering rotating exhibitions by regional artists as well as workshops at the Duluth Depot and Lincoln Branch Library.[97]
Former grocery store displaying the belongings of local character and lifelong hoarder Ed Krueger, including toys, packaging, magazines, player piano rolls, and a dead cat, all willed to the city and organized by the Wykoff Progressive Club and operated by the Wykoff Area Historical Society.[105][106]
Seven historic buildings, including an 1878 gristmill, 1897 one-room school, and Finnish-style log farm structures, plus vehicles including a horse-drawn schoolbus and a 1938 Caterpillar D8 snowplow.[111]
Railroad and frontier life, with vintage locomotives and rolling stock, an original railway turntable, historical buildings, and a model train layout. Operated by Murray County.[112]
Historical and replica buildings, including two 19th-century houses, a country schoolhouse, 1892 log cabin, a sod house, pioneer church, and a town hall, with some indoor exhibits and a research library.[115]
Excelsior–Lake Minnetonka Historical Society Museum
History of the south Lake Minnetonka area, including the 1893 racing scow Onawa and exhibits on the Excelsior Amusement Park in operation 1925–1974. Housed in a former train station.[116]
Celebrates the veterans of World War II with a collection of fully operational military aircraft and vehicles, plus murals, statues, and other art.[117]
Minnesota's agricultural heritage, featuring an 1850s farm, 1930s farm, visitor center, antique tractors and machinery, and several historical buildings. Also known as the Minnesota Agricultural Interpretive Center.[118]
Artifacts from Fillmore County history, including agricultural equipment, women's and children's clothing, period displays, two Bernard Pietenpol airplanes, and a one-room schoolhouse. Operated by the Fillmore County Historical Society.[120]
Exhibits and historical structures interpreting the pioneer heritage of eastern Lake County. Operated by the Finland Minnesota Historical Society on an 1890s homestead.[121]
Local Finnish American heritage represented by original and relocated structures on a 1900 farmstead, including a smoke sauna, sawmill, and town hall.[122]
Replica 1930s fish house and drydocked 35-foot (11 m) fishing tug built 1935–36. Operated by the Cook County Historical Society in partnership with the City of Grand Marais.[124]
Photos and memorabilia commemorating individuals and corporations significant in the development of recreational fishing in Minnesota. Operated by a non-profit organization within a Gander Mountain store.[125]
Human history of Minnesota's forests, interpreted via a visitor center, early-20th-century logging camp, 1930s U.S. Forest Service station, nature trails, and environmental programs. Operated by the Minnesota Historical Society.[130]
Recreated 1860s pioneer fort, plus other historic and replica structures including a sod house, blacksmith shop, farmhouse, and 1902 church. Indoor exhibits feature historical vehicles, early music boxes, and dolls.[131]
Indoor exhibits in a reconstructed building and foundation ruins of a frontier U.S. Army fort in service 1853–1867, site of the Battle of Fort Ridgely in 1862. Operated by the Minnesota Historical Society.[132]
The farmsted is composed of the main house, barn, smokehouse and several hand-dug caves. The farmstead was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and was acquired 1976–1978 by the History Center of Olmsted County.
1849 farmstead with original, relocated, and replica buildings, plus replica Dakota dwellings and gardens; operated by the Ramsey County Historical Society.[138]
1856 house with replica 1852 wing, owned by Gideon Hollister Pond, early missionary to the Dakota. Operated by the city of Bloomington in Pond–Dakota Mission Park.[139][140]
Research collection and rotating exhibit space dedicated to applied arts such as clothing, pottery, and graphic design. Operated by the University of Minnesota's College of Design.[144]
Permanent and temporary exhibits on Goodhue County history, including Native Americans, natural history, daily life, and special events. Operated by Minnesota's oldest county historical society, established in 1869.[145]
Collects, preserves, restores, displays, and operates railroad equipment and artifacts. Collections include the Great Northern office car "Manitoba" which was used as a private car by James J Hill.[146][147]
Displays of Grant County history, including paleontology, Native American and pioneer artifacts, and military memorabilia, plus a restored log cabin and one-room school. Operated by the Grant County Historical Society.[150][151]
Aquarium displaying freshwater species from the Great Lakes region and the Amazon River, including birds and otters, plus exhibits on physical sciences.[152]
Origins of Greyhound Lines, a local enterprise that grew into the world's largest bus company. Features 17 vintage buses including the founders' original 1914 Hupmobile.[154]
1859 farm of Wendelin Grimm, who developed the first winter-hardy alfalfa in North America, enabling widespread dairy farming in the Upper Midwest. Operated by Three Rivers Park District within Carver Park Reserve.[155]
Housed in the city's first city hall building, the museum features local history exhibits including a Veterans Hall, recreation of an Ice Cream Parlor and a historical display on the city's Jackson Project Homes, "subsistence homesteads" that were built in 1937 as part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal.[167][168]
Local artifacts and memorabilia housed in a 1911 school building promoting the history of the City of Hewitt and Stowe Prairie Township. Operated by the Hewitt Historical Society.[170]
Permanent and rotating exhibits of city history, including scale models of Hibbing in 1893 and 1913, a fully furnished replica house, and logging and mining displays.[171]
Interprets the devastating Great Hinckley Fire of 1894 and the subsequent rebuilding of the town and conversion from lumber to agriculture. Housed in an 1895 train station.[175]
A restored Victorian mansion built in 1892 by R.B. Hinkly, a prominent local businessman and one of Luverne's founders. Owned and operate by the Rock County Historical Society.
Replica of a late-19th-century village with 24 buildings, including log cabins, a church, shops, and a one-room schoolhouse. Operated by the Chippewa County Historical Society.[176]
Living history demonstrations themed to 1899 in and around an original general store, attached residence, farm buildings, gardens, and bridge. Operated by the Minnesota Historical Society within Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park.[177]
Restored 1820s Army fort at a key river junction, associated with Native American history, the fur trade, Dred Scott, and the Dakota War of 1862. The adjacent Plank Museum and Visitor Center, housed in a rehabilitated 1904 cavalry barracks, expands the story through the World Wars. Operated by the Minnesota Historical Society.[178][179][180]
The history center maintains interpretive exhibits detailing history of Olmsted County, and operates a research library. Its campus includes the George Stoppel Farmstead and other pioneer buildings.[181][182]
Displays on local domestic, economic, and social life, including Native American artifacts, the Otter Tail River, area towns, quilting, and the early tourist trade. Housed in an 1887 stone church and operated by the History, Arts & Cultural Association of East Otter Tail County.[183]
The museum self-identifies as a "museum without walls" and partners with local cultural organizations to do pop up exhibits and to provide cultural programming.[186]
Hoċokata Ti [ho-cho-kah-tah-tee] is the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community’s (SMSC) cultural center and gathering space for the Community’s tribe members. It contains a 3,805-square-foot public exhibit, Mdewakanton: Dwellers of the Spirit Lake.[128]
1871 house furnished to depict three periods of Belle Plaine history—1850s–60s, Victorian Era, and early 20th century—while local memorabilia is on display in the carriage house. Operated by the Belle Plaine Historical Society.[188]
Local memorabilia and archival material on such topics as the Minneapolis-Moline tractor company, Czech American history, homes and businesses, and Hopkins' long-running Raspberry Festival.[189]
Period displays, artifacts, and photographs of the Hormel family in original 1871 home. Also an event center and sponsor of arts activities including annual concert series and piano competition.
Local history collections including farm equipment and photographs, plus historic buildings on the grounds including an 1862 church, 1878 one-room schoolhouse, and 1880 log cabin.[190]
Period rooms—such as a Victorian parlor and one-room schoolhouse—and exhibits of local artifacts like vintage clothing, military memorabilia, and communication equipment displayed in a 1900 county courthouse.[191]
Operated by the Pennington County Historical Society, the museum is housed on the grounds near the Peder Engelstad Pioneer Village and features exhibits on local county history.[193][194]
Archive of local history materials, including photographs and law enforcement accessories. Housed in the WPA-built City Hall in McKinley, Minnesota.[198]
Operated by the Itasca County Historical Society, includes exhibits about the woolly mammoth, Judy Garland and the Gumm family, paper industry, Native Americans, pioneers[200]
Also known as the Cuckoo Clock Museum, it is a museum in the North Loop neighborhood that houses a large private collection of cuckoo clocks as well as other items such as phonographs and vintage musical instruments and geologic specimens.
A local history museum owned and operated by the Jasper Area Historical Society and located in the historic Poorbaugh Building since 1981. It features exhibits of the local history of the area.[205]
Rock outcrop bearing some 4,000 Native American petroglyphs carved in a period spanning 7,000 to 250 years ago, plus a visitor center with exhibits. Operated by the Minnesota Historical Society.[206]
1849 house of Minneapolis pioneer John H. Stevens, site of much early civic activity. Hauled to its current location in Minnehaha Park in 1896 by teams of schoolchildren.[207]
Gallery featuring the art of settler Anna Johnson (1881–1944), plus rotating exhibits of local, regional, and national artists. Operated by the Cook County Historical Society.[208]
Displays include a replica tipi and 1850s land office, and a topographical map of the Minnesota River, plus exhibits on town founder Joseph R. Brown and riverboats. Housed in an 1879 courthouse.[209]
Home from 1868 to 1885 of J.R. Watkins, founder of what is now Watkins Incorporated. Displays include period furnishings and Watkins' early products.[210]
Gilded Age decorative arts displayed in an 1884 home, exhibited by the owner by appointment. Collection was formerly the basis of the Gowie-Nonnand House Museum in New Haven, Connecticut.[212]
Indoor and outdoor displays, including an Ojibwe wigwam, 1906 kitchen, telecommunications gear, several historic schoolhouses, a replica 1904 fire hall, and a 1950s caboose.[213]
Rotating exhibits in a 1912 church building, one of 14 national locations of the world's largest private collection of notable manuscripts and documents.[217]
5,000-square-foot (460 m2) gallery devoted to exhibiting visual arts by local, regional, national, and international artists. Operated by the University of Minnesota Department of Art.[219]
Displays of pioneer artifacts, machinery, and antique vehicles, plus historic structures including a log cabin, schoolhouse, church, and caboose. Operated by the Kittson County Historical Society.[222]
Home of Norwegian American politician Knute Nelson (1843–1923), Minnesota's only foreign-born governor, who later served 28 years as a U.S. Senator. Operated by the Douglas County Historical Society.[223]
Located in a former house, the museum contains historic items from the community and the area's apple industry. Operated by the La Crescent Area Historical Society.[225][3]
Museum complex with local history displays, a 3,000-piece salt and pepper shaker collection, and farm equipment, plus an 1870s log cabin, 1880s schoolhouse, 1933 gas station, and the writing study of Minnesota poet laureate Robert Bly. Operated by the Lac qui Parle Historical Society.[226]
Reconstructed 1835 mission where the first Dakota language dictionary and Bible were compiled. Operated by the Chippewa County Historical Society.[227]
Displays on county topics ranging from natural history to tourism, including the Baudette Fire of 1910, plus a collection of agricultural equipment and replica buildings such as a homestead, general store, and blacksmith shop. Operated by the Lake of the Woods County Historical Society.[228]
Displays a large collection of locomotives, rolling stock, and other railroad equipment, plus regional history exhibits. Housed in the Duluth Depot and offering excursions on the North Shore Scenic Railroad.[229]
Historical buildings and living history demonstrations depicting the settlement of the lower Minnesota River Valley from the 1840s to the 1890s. Operated by Three Rivers Park District.[231]
History of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family in Walnut Grove with historical and replica buildings, plus memorabilia from stars of the Little House on the Prairie TV series and a 250-item doll collection.[235]
Houses 25,000 objects and 20,000 photographs related to Dakota County history, plus an extensive research library. Operated by the Dakota County Historical Society.[236]
Gothic Revival mansion of a Civil War quartermaster completed in 1866, restored for tours and events. Operated by the Dakota County Historical Society.[237]
The museum opened in 2004, and moved to their current site in 2006, building an expansion in 2008. The museum features exhibits on the regional heritage of elegant lake resorts, boating, and fishing.[238]
Local history exhibits including Green Giant, veterinary medicine, agriculture, art, military service, and early buildings like schools, a post office, and a drug store. Operated by the Le Sueur County Historical Society in a former school.[239]
Interprets pioneer history in the late-19th and early-20th century, with four historical buildings—a train station, school, church, and house—plus exhibits on topics like military service, agriculture, and sports.[240]
A 1907 replica of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, operating as an interpretive information center run by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
History of Lyon County from its original Dakota inhabitants onward, including a 1950s soda fountain counter and exhibits on the pop culture of the 1960s. Operated by the Lyon County Historical Society.[244]
The building was the cooper for the historic brewery in Mantorville. Displays feature the cooper's tools and brewery items. The upper floors are furnished in mid-1800's.[245]
Maple Grove History Museum
Maple Grove
Hennepin
Twin Cities Metro
Local History
Operated by the Maple Grove Historic Preservation Society
Permanent and changing exhibits of county history, including Fairmont Railway Motors, local music, early vehicles, pioneer housewares, fashions, and military mementos.[247]
The 23,000-square foot, thirty-eight room mansion was built in 1911 by Dr. Charlie and Edith Mayo. Now 10 acres, it was once a 3,300-acre country estate, the mansion has seen many changes over the years. Mayowood is filled with furnishings from two generations of the Mayo family's extensive travels. Owned by Mayo Clinic with tours conducted by the History Center of Olmsted County.[249][250][251]
Displays on the history of McLeod County's nine communities, rotating exhibits, woodcarvings celebrating pioneer women, and the artwork of wildlife painter Les Kouba. Operated by the McLeod County Historical Society.[253]
Museum containing Native American and pioneer artifacts and an 1868 log cabin, attached to an 1885 Grand Army of the Republic hall with period furnishings and Civil War memorabilia.[254]
Memorabilia of the area's military, business, domestic, sports, and religious history, plus a large photographic collection. Housed in a 1953 convent.[255]
Their exhibits include, tools and equipment in logging and farming from the late 1800s to early 1900s, replicas of an early 1900s kitchen, parlor, and school setting. They also have a restored 1925 model T.[60]
Housed in the former WPA constructed Milaca City Hall, the museum offers local history displays and maintains an archive and library of local history documents. Operated by the Milaca Area Historical Society.[60]
Interactive exhibits on the Minneapolis milling industry and its connections to the Mississippi River and the city's development. Operated by the Minnesota Historical Society in the ruins of an 1880 mill.[256]
The Mille Lacs Lake Historical Society Museum, run by volunteers, showcases the history of the Mille Lacs Lake area, including fur trading, farming, and pioneer settlements.[259]
Heritage of the Milwaukee Road railway in western Minnesota, with variety of rolling stock, a 1901 depot, 1913 turntable, and a model train layout depicting the year 1953.[261]
Monumental art museum containing 89,000 works spanning 20,000 years and all six inhabited continents, ranging from indigenous American and African art to contemporary work, decorative arts, and a substantial Asian collection.[263]
The Museum's purpose is to preserve, record and highlight the achievements, contributions and experiences of African Americans in Minnesota and is carried out through exhibits, workshops and events that educate and inform the public about the history, culture, and art of African Americans in Minnesota.[266]
Exhibits on Iron Range industry, immigration, geology, and local-born governor Rudy Perpich, plus trolley tours of an open-pit mine, historic and replica buildings, and a research library. Formerly Ironworld Discovery Center.[269]
Minnesota's fishing heritage interpreted through dioramas, a freshwater aquarium, and 10,000 artifacts including fishing tackle through the years and antique boat motors.[270]
Interprets rural life with a collection of tractors, farm implements, gas engines, automobiles, railroad memorabilia, and folk art housed in five buildings of a former school.[272]
The Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center consists of the Col. James B Ladd Museum and the Charles W. Nelson Library. The museum is 3,700 SF in six galleries and showcases the history of Masonry in Minnesota. Operated by the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Society, formerly the Minnesota Masonic Historical Society.[274]
Interprets Minnesota's military history from its frontier forts to the present, and the experiences of Minnesotans in all branches of service. Operated by the Military Historical Society of Minnesota on the grounds of Camp Ripley.[275]
15-acre (6.1 ha) museum to the mining industry of the Iron Range and its workers, with indoor exhibits, original heavy equipment, a rock and mineral collection, a replica town, and a simulated underground mine.[276]
Pioneer heritage of Central Minnesota depicted through an 1884 log cabin, 1886 church, 1886 train station, 1886 caboose, 1892 town hall, replicas of a sod house and typical small town businesses, and indoor exhibits.[278]
Minnesota Territorial Pioneers, whose members trace their ancestry to the pioneers who settled in the Minnesota Territory before the state of Minnesota was admitted to the union in 1858, operate a museum during the Minnesota State Fair.[282][283]
50 vintage train cars, classic buses, and interactive displays on regional transportation history in a 1907 roundhouse, plus various rides and tours.[284]
Instruments, documents, and other memorabilia depicting the progress of veterinary medicine in Minnesota and the pioneering individuals behind it. Operated by the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota–St. Paul Campus.[285]
The Morristown Feed Mill Museum, listed on the NRHP, offers a unique glimpse into agricultural history through its preserved mill and exhibits on the milling process and its impact on the community. Operated by the Morristown Historical Society.
1907 train station and adjacent building housing permanent and rotating exhibits, including the 1918 Cloquet Fire, railroads, a 1920s kitchen, local church memorabilia, and vintage clothing.[287]
Maintains a 10,000-strong collection of local heritage items, including vital records, antique agricultural equipment like a Caterpillar Sixty, and an 1872 log cabin.[289]
Steamboat that operated on Lake Minnetonka from 1906 to 1926, when it was scuttled, but rediscovered and salvaged in 1980 and now restored for regular heritage cruises.[290]
North America's only museum dedicated to the art of Russia, with a core collection of 20th-century Realist paintings plus varied temporary exhibits. Housed in a 1935 Spanish Colonial Revival church building.[291]
Operating since 1999, the museum is currently located in the building that was the original Deer Creek Fire Hall built in 1906 and features displays on local history.[292][293]
Buildings and gardens representing local life at the turn of the 20th century, plus a restored train station and caboose. Operated by the Nisswa Area Historical Society.[294]
Displays a permanent collection of 42 European paintings dating back to the 16th century, plus seasonal exhibits of contemporary art. Housed in the former Hubbard County Courthouse.[296]
An 1887 railroad depot museum of railroad artifacts, historical pictures, area maps, caboose, railroad work cart, baggage carts and mail cart, operated by the New Brighton Historical Society.[297]
Operated by the Nobles County Historical Society, it is housed in the former Nobles County Armory Building and features a research center as well as a permanent and variety of temporary exhibits and maintains a collections of documents, manuscripts, photographs and three-dimensional objects.[299]
Pioneer Village contains roughly 40 restored and replicated structures reflecting aspects of life from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Included are churches, a bank, general store, rural schoolhouse, hospital, railroad depot, caboose, saloon and several houses, offices and trade shops. Operated by the Nobles County Historical Society.[300]
North Beltrami Heritage Center was established in 2000 and is located in the city's Old Auditorium building. In addition to displays the Heritage Center has a sculpture garden that was added along the north side and east end of the building incorporating historical farming equipment, scrap-metal sculptures created by local students.[301][47]
Exhibits on the natural history of North American bears and North Woods wildlife, with live American black bears in a 2.5-acre (1 ha) natural enclosure.[302]
Preservation of the history and remaining buildings of railroad industrialist, James J. Hill's North Oaks Farm. Operated by the Hill Farm Historical Society.
Exhibits celebrating the people and technology that established commercial fishing on the harsh North Shore of Lake Superior. Operated by the Tofte Historical Society.[304]
Northwest Airlines History Center is located on the third floor of the Crowne Plaza Aire hotel in Bloomington and features exhibits that highlight the history of Northwest Airlines, which merged with Delta Airlines.[307][308]
The house museum serves as the location of the Kenyon Area Historical Society. The house is fully furnished from the time period when the house was built in 1895.
Exhibits include dioramas and period rooms featuring area natural history, Native Americans, European settlement, agriculture and farm life, and a recreation of a 1910s Main Street.[312]
Tours of Prince's private estate and production complex including the studios where he recorded and produced music, his private NPG Music Club, soundstage, and concert hall.
Two buildings with local history displays plus two restored buildings: an old country school and a church. Operated by the Paynesville Area Historical Society.[313]
The museum is located on the lower level of the historic Cole Memorial Building. Museum exhibits are lifestyle memorabilia from the early 1930s to 1940s. Exhibits also showcase different site buildings including an old schoolhouse, a general store, and an old theater. A military section that contains past artifacts from both the First and Second World Wars is also exhibited.[314][315]
Operated by the Pennington County Historical Society, replica early 20th century village including two railroad depots, one-room schoolhouse, church, log houses, general store, two-story Victorian house, blacksmith shop and barber shop.
Local artifacts and research material in an 1877 train station, relocated from abandoned rail line (now part of the Root River State Trail) to Mill Street, the village's main thoroughfare[316]
Operated by the Pine County Historical Society the museum and is housed in a former high school building. They operate the Little Mermaid Cafe within the building. The museum collections include five pump organs and a wooden 1982 Mercury Grand Marquis. The museum includes a library containing biographies of Pine County residents, and township records.[320][321]
Built in 1895 as a railroad depot, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001, the museum tells the story of the greater Pine River area. Operated by the Heritage Group North, Inc.[322][137]
Exhibits on local firefighting, railroad, and World War I history. Operated by the Pipestone County Historical Society in a former city hall, with a circa-1880 one-room schoolhouse off-site.[323]
Site where many Native American tribes have long quarried catlinite for ceremonial pipes, with interpretive trails, indoor exhibits, and live demonstrations by native craftspeople. Operated by the National Park Service.[324]
Housed in the former 1885 Plymouth Town Hall, the museum offers local history displays and maintains an archive of local history objects and documents. Operated by the Plymouth Historical Society.[326][3]
The 5,600 square foot Polaris Experience Center offers exhibits such as the second snowmobile ever made in 1956 and activities for visitors to learn more about the company, Polaris Industries (manufacturer of snowmobiles, ATVs, motorbikes and other vehicles), its history, and its growth throughout the years.
Operated by the Polk County Historical Society, includes museum with period room displays, household items, general store, doctor's office, barbershop, communications center (telephone and switchboard center), an 1870 log house, two room prairie house, blacksmith shop, a one-room school house and a church
The site is home to a 1902 Milwaukee Elevator Co. grain building, a restored 1939 Milwaukee Road boxcar, and a 1951 caboose and consists of interpretive signage telling about the connection of agriculture, the railroad, and its significance to Preston. Operated by the Preston Historical Society.[329][330]
Probstfield Farm is the site of the oldest standing home in the Red River Valley. The farm features several historic buildings, working antique tractors and machinery.[60]
The museum building originally was the Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railway car shop superintendent's office and was moved from the Proctor railyard to its current location in 2011. The museum features the Proctor area and its railroad history with rotating historical exhibits and a scale model of the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway.[331][332]
The 5,000-square-foot museum is housed in the former St. John Lutheran Church built in 1951. The museum features eight exhibits showcasing the local history of the area. Additionally, the museum offers a versatile "Heritage Hall" utilized for various programs and meetings.[333]
Located in a Milwaukee depot building. Built in 1906, the building consists of three rooms—waiting, office and freight room. The building was moved in 1958 to a nearby farm and used for storage until it was moved back to Rapidan in May 2002 and restorated by the Rapidan Heritage Society for use as their museum.[334][47]
Includes 3 working looms, exhibits on local doctors, schools, military uniforms and old toys, operated by the Norman County Historical Society in a former school[327][328]
A collection of boat motors manufactured by a notable local company in operation 1902–1979, plus rotating exhibits on boat and river history, housed in an 1884 waterworks.[336]
Company museum of Red Wing Shoes featuring hands-on displays, a wall of honor, and a Norman Rockwell gallery featuring original art from 1960s footwear ads. On display is the world's largest boot, over 20 feet (6 m) high.[337]
Operated by the Rice County Historical Society, exhibits include a Main Street business display, notable residents, natural history, military history, Sellner Manufacturing
Offers local history displays and tours of the city's oldest house, built in 1852 for Riley Bartholomew. Operated by the Richfield Historical Society.[340]
In 1998 the Robbinsdale Historical Society moved into the old Robbinsdale Library building. The museum showcases an array of artifacts, photographs, and documents telling the story of Robbinsdale.[341][342]
Local history exhibits housed in a former auto showroom. The Rock County Historical Society also manages original and replica buildings at the county fairgrounds and an 1892 house.[343]
Includes Kensington Runestone, pioneer period rooms, Minnesota natural history dioramas, early photos, Norse history, Native American exhibit, and restored Fort Alexandria with school and general store
Started in 2004 the center was home to the Greenwood Prairie Art Gallery and the Jon Hassler Theater. Throughout the year it features exhibits of visual artwork by regional painters, sculptors, drawing artists, and photographers.[345]
Historic schoolhouse, log cabin, and log barn, plus an exhibit building with local artifacts. Operated by the Winona County Historical Society at the county fairgrounds.[346]
The schoolhouse was built in 1908. In 1972 was restored and moved to Pine City and is used as museum. One week school sessions take place in June and are open to children in grades one to eight. The children study reading, writing and arithmetic from textbooks dating back to the 1890s.[347]
Constructed in 1895 in the Ojibwe community of Chippewa City, Minnesota it is listed on the NRHP. Operated by the Cook County Historical Society.[348][30]
On the grounds of the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center and residing in the old 1866 administration building of the "Minnesota Hospital for the Insane", the St Peter State Hospital Museum showcases the history of Minnesota's first and oldest state hospital which opened in 1866 to serve the mentally ill and mentally ill and dangerous. Exhibits also display the history of Minnesota's state hospital system.[350][351]
The 1871 homestead of Ole O. Estenson, a pioneer in the Red River Valley. The homestead includes the Estenson’s barn and cabin. Operated by the Sand Hill Settlement Historical Society.[352]
Housed in a historic former commercial building, the museum has displays on 1894 fire, quarries, railroads, and Native Americans in the Sandstone area. The facility also contains a research center.[353][354]
The one-room log school built was in 1903. It was replaced by a 1912 two-story frame schoolhouse and operated as one of Minnesota's first consolidated schools until it closed in 1960. The building is operated as a museum and community center by the Saum Community Club, Inc.[357][358]
Operated by the Marshall County Historical Society, depicts an 1880s street with store fronts, antique farm machinery and the UFO Sheriff's car of Marshall County
The Museum displays historical artifacts related to the city's founding, as well as notable city events and figures. Next to the museum there is a granite monument marking the burial site of the town's namesake, Chief Ish Tal Ha Ba or Sleepy Eyes. Operated by the Sleepy Eye Area Historical Society.[359][360]
The Springfield Museum is home to the Springfield Area Historical Society's collection of historical artifacts, records, and other information.[361][65]
Housed in former church attended by the family of Laura Ingalls Wilder, local history exhibits, operated by the Spring Valley Community Historical Society
Permanent and rotating exhibits on Scott County history, including the Dakota people and Shakopee-born government official Maurice Stans, and the 1908 Stans home. Operated by the Scott County Historical Society.[366]
The campus consists of a depot museum, a schoolhouse museum, a turn-of-the-century threshing kitchen, Skoglund Building - formerly the office of the Standard Lumber Company, and a historic marker at the site where the world's largest lefse was created.[367][330]
The history center features a rotating exhibit hall, genealogy research room, event center, meeting rooms and a gift shop;adjacent to the Village of Yesteryear.[370]
17-acre (6.9 ha) farmstead of an innovative Swedish immigrant, with a 22-room brick farmhouse and 1880s barn. Operated by the Chippewa County Historical Society.[176]
Interprets local history with period rooms, themed exhibits, model buildings, and displays by decade up to the 1990s. Operated by the Swift County Historical Society.[372]
Housed in a 1916 former passenger railroad depot listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it includes a 1910 Duluth and Iron Range Railway class K-1 2-8-0 (number 1218) steam locomotive, and displays on mining, logging, early settlements as well as historical documents relating to Tower-Soudan and Lake Vermilion area. Operated by the Tower-Soudan Historical Society.[374]
Tri River Museum was established in 2006 to preserve the history and artifacts of the Tri River area which includes the Clearwater River, Red Lake River, and the Lost River.[376][30]
Minnesota's oldest operating lighthouse, completed in 1892. Managed by the Lake County Historical Society, offering tours, exhibits, and bed & breakfast accommodations.[377]
A recreated village of 15 furnished buildings and structures reminiscent of the late 19th century. The centerpiece of the village is the Dunnell Mansion built in 1868. Placed around a central park encircled by a boardwalk. Operated by the Steele County Historical Society.[370]
Built in 1868 by James B. Wakefield, one of Blue Earth’s original founders, the Wakefield House is now the county historical museum. Operated by the Faribault County Historical Society.[153]
Includes turn of the 20th century furnishing, quilts, toys, period kitchen, agriculture machinery, operated by the Spring Valley Community Historical Society
Features exhibits on local history, and logging. Explores both the history of Stillwater and the broader story of Washington County and the St. Croix Valley.
Built in 1855 to serve as a law office and bank, it was converted into a Civil War recruiting station in 1861. Many of the recruits from the station served in Company C of the Second Minnesota Regiment. Operated by the Dodge County Historical Society, it as the only remaining American Civil War recruiting station in Minnesota.[381]
Vintage products, advertising, and other memorabilia from the 150-year history of Watkins Incorporated, housed in the company's 1911 headquarters building.[382]
Contains horse-drawn farm equipment, an original post office and log cabin, a recreated drug store, and information on the capture of the Younger Brothers. Operated by the Watonwan County Historical Society.[383]
The 1903 depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was restored and opened to the public as a museum in 2010 and features a collection of area history and historical items including railroad, military and genealogy.[60]
The historical society shares the former West Concord High School building with Community Center. The building, built in 1902 with a 1936 addition, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[386][387]
Located in the Western Hennepin County Pioneer Building, a former school building, the museum has four main display rooms - Victorian Room, General Store Room, Textile Room and Music Room. The lower level contains their archives. Operated by the Western Hennepin County Pioneers Association.[388][3]
The museum occupies levels 4 & 5, in the Centennial Building, the museum offers local histories of the Minnetrista, Mound, Spring Park, Navarre/Orono, and Minnetonka Beach communities as well as a history of the Tonka Toys Corporation, formerly in Mound, MN. Operated by the Westonka Historical Society.[389][3]
The White Bear Lake Armory is the site of the White Bear Lake Area Historical Society offices and Resource Library. The armory was built in 1922 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.[390][391]
The White Bear Town Hall was designed in 1885 by architect Cass Gilbert and served as the center of government for White Bear Township until 2011. Since then it has undergone a rehabilitation project and is now a museum operated by the White Bear Lake Area Historical Society.[392][391]
Operated by the Wilkin County Historical Society,[393] The building originally was a Masonic Temple but was donated to Wilkin County Historical Society in 1977. The museum has eight rooms furnished with antiques including a 1920s kitchen, a small chapel and a historic bank lobby.
Three floors of exhibits—including a replica prehistoric rock shelter, J.R. Watkins' original desk, and children's exhibits—plus an art gallery. Operated by the Winona County Historical Society in a 1915 armory and modern addition.[395]
The museum is a 40-acre farm originally homesteaded by Eli Wirtanen in 1904. A house, animal barn, hay barns, sauna, and guesthouse are on the farmstead. The home is an example of Finnish log construction.[60]
Built in 1870 it is one of the oldest structures still standing in Woodbury. It is operated by the Woodbury Heritage Society. The gardens contain over 100 different kinds of plants including those grown on farms by the early settlers of Woodbury.[60]
Features a museum, research library, and historic structures that tell the story of the county's past. Operated by the Wright County Historical Society
Yellow Medicine County Historical Society and Museum
Counties: Big Stone, Blue Earth, Brown, Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Le Sueur, Martin, McLeod, Meeker, Nicollet, Redwood, Renville, Sibley, Swift, Yellow Medicine
Amdal House Museum, Lake Park, MN, was sold in 2015 and the collections of the Lake Park Area Historical Society moved to a new location.
Arches Museum of Pioneer Life, Lewiston. The museum's collection, the Gainy/McCarthy schoolhouse, and Hill Log House were moved to the Winona County Fairgrounds in St. Charles to become the Rural Heritage Museum under administration of the Winona County Historical Society.[57] The Hillsdale School District 81 (Prigge School) was moved to Winona State University to become part of their new Education Village.[398][399]
Arrowhead Bluffs Museum, Wabasha. Closed in October 2011. Displayed hunting trophies, antique rifles, and Native American artifacts.[400]
Baseball Museum, Minneapolis. Baseball memorabilia collected by a Minnesota Twins equipment manager and displayed in a souvenir shop near the Metrodome. Closed in 2015.[401]
Hubert H. Humphrey Museum, Waverly. Shut down after it suffered a catastrophic fire August 18, 1997. Surviving collections were moved to the Wright County Historical Society.[404][405]
The Le Sueur Museum in Le Sueur. Sold by the Le Sueur County Historical Society in January 2018 to the dairy cooperative Agropur Inc. which in has applied for a permit to demolish the building.[406][407]
Mikkelson Collection, Willmar.[408] Collection auctioned off in 2012.[409]
Minnesota African American Museum, Minneapolis. Started in October 2012 in the historic Coe Mansion but never fully opened to the public. It was to display exhibits surrounding Minnesota's African-American community.[411][412]
Museum of Questionable Medical Devices, Minneapolis. Closed in 2002 and collection transferred to the Science Museum of Minnesota.[415]
Planes of Fame East Air Museum, Eden Prairie. A WWII aviation museum that housed a collection of 30+ historic, flyable airplanes. Closed in 1997. Most airplanes transferred to the Palm Springs Air Museum.
Soderlund Pharmacy Museum, St. Peter. Medical instruments, pharmacological products, and show globes, plus a 1911 soda fountain, housed in a working drugstore. Closed as of 2014.[417]
Spicer's Classic Car Museum, Chisholm. No current information.
Story Lady Doll & Toy Museum, Albert Lea.[418] When it closed in 2010, the collection was moved to the Freeborn County Historical Museum.[419]
Wabasso Museum closed in 2010. Photo collections moved to the Wabasso Library.[421]
Wells Fargo History Museum in Minneapolis, MN was permanently closed along with 11 of 12 Wells Fargo History Museums around the country in 2020.[422][423]
^"Official site". Upsala Area Historical Society. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
^ abHanson, Krista Finstad (2007). Minnesota Open House: A Guide to Historic House Museums. St. Paul, Minn.: Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN978-0-87351-577-1.
^"Official site". Brown County Historical Society. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
^Hanson, Krista Finstad (June 25, 2009). Minnesota Open House: A Guide to Historic House Museums. Minnesota Historical Society. pp. 64–. ISBN978-0-87351-743-0.
^"Official site". The Mikkelson Collection, Inc. Archived from the original on 25 October 2001. Retrieved 15 April 2015. The Mikkelson Collection, Inc. is now CLOSED in preparation of the upcoming auction.
^Shannon, Ed (August 13, 2010). "Story Lady to close, relocate". Albert Lea Tribune. Albert Lea's Story Lady Doll & Toy Museum, 131 N. Broadway Ave., is now in the process of both closing its retail store and moving its extensive collection of dolls and some toys to the Freeborn County Historical Museum, Library and Village on North Bridge Avenue.
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