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Crow Wing County Historical Society reviews 2025 projects, outlines 2026 goals
Summary
The Crow Wing County Historical Society showcased 2025 restorations and exhibits—including a restored Northern Pacific locomotive and a traveling 'Why Treaties Matter' exhibit—and outlined 2026 plans such as internships, an Old Crow Wing exhibit and a Minnesota Historical Society grant application.
Mike Anglin, a member of the Crow Wing County Historical Society board, thanked the county for its 2025 funding and introduced the society’s update to county commissioners.
Hillary (executive director of the Crow Wing County Historical Society) told the board the society completed several preservation projects in 2025, including restoration of a Northern Pacific locomotive at the Crow Wing County Fairgrounds. She said the locomotive work was funded by a $5,000 grant, about $8,500 in designated donations and more than $7,000 in in‑kind support from a local business, and that interpretive panels now explain the artifact for fair visitors.
The society also repainted the District Number 3 schoolhouse (1887) and the 1905 woolhouse at the fairgrounds with support from a $3,000 corporate donation and roughly $14,000 in designated community donations. Hillary highlighted an in‑house Brainerd Ladies Band exhibit completed for a small fraction of the cost an outside vendor would charge, and said the traveling Minnesota Humanities Center exhibit “Why Treaties Matter” was hosted in November during Native American Heritage Month and engaged more than 300 community members.
Hillary said the society connected with a retired archaeology professor who identified more than 700 pre‑contact pottery items in the collection; those identifications will feed a larger statewide study. She reported the society now has about 160 members (16 new in 2025), visitor numbers up roughly 25% over three years, and that a collections manager has digitized a backlog of roughly 1,300 objects to make them searchable for exhibits and donation screening.
Looking ahead to 2026, the society plans to continue a Sourcewell‑funded internship program, complete an interactive exhibit on the village of Old Crow Wing, update its website to improve usability, and pursue a Minnesota Historical Society Heritage Partnership grant to develop Indigenous education materials in partnership with Brainerd Public Schools and the American Indian Parent Advisory Committee. Hillary invited commissioners to visit the museum and noted the annual fundraiser is scheduled for April 28 at Gather On 3. She also confirmed regular museum hours as Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–3 p.m., and said the museum will reopen the first Tuesday in February after a January closure.
Commissioners asked about the effect of modest admission and membership increases on revenue; Hillary said raising admission from $3 to $5 would yield about $1,100 annually and modest membership increases would add several hundred dollars a year, while the board reviews other fundraising opportunities to offset expenses.
The board thanked the presenters and did not take formal action at the meeting; the historical society’s initiatives will continue to be monitored through regular reports and grant applications.
