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Pipestone County Historical Society seeks county support for $90,000 newspaper digitization and building repairs
Summary
The Pipestone County Historical Society asked commissioners for continued operating support and outlined a roughly $90,000 multi‑phase project to digitize county newspapers and make artifact collections searchable online, and described restoration needs for the Ferris building and damaged murals.
Susan Hoskins, representing the Pipestone County Historical Society, told the county board on Sept. 10 that the museum has launched initiatives to expand public access to its collections and needs continued county support.
Hoskins described a phased plan that begins with digitizing newspaper microfilm and historic negatives, using a public‑facing platform (Advantage Archive was cited as the vendor considered) and PathPerfect collection‑management software to make artifacts searchable online. The digitization phase — which staff estimated at about $90,000 — would include the Pipestone County Star and several area papers. Hoskins said an intern had completed work on a glass‑plate negative collection and that the digitized materials would be an important resource for residents, schools and people who no longer live in the county.
She also described ongoing capital and conservation needs: scaffolding work completed on the Ferris building, pending tuck‑pointing phases, ongoing water infiltration that has damaged murals and the need to pursue state historic grant funding and mural restoration when the building envelope is secured. The museum plans staged work to use available grant opportunities and noted that replacing doors and adding cameras were part of routine security and preservation improvements.
Commissioners asked about storage conditions and whether collections are climate controlled; Hoskins confirmed most artifacts are stored in the museum building’s third floor and in the Ferris building (the latter not fully climate controlled) and said HVAC upgrades would be part of future grant work. Hoskins said the museum had sought and received partnership funding and would continue to apply for grants and philanthropic support.
The board did not take an immediate funding vote but discussed including museum support and related grants in upcoming budget deliberations. Hoskins said the museum would provide updates to staff and commissioners as grant opportunities and project phases progress.
