Legacy Amendment Supports $313,062 in Small Grants to History Organizations Throughout Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (November 14, 2023) – The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is pleased to announce the newest recipients of 36 Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Small Grants ($10,000 and less), totaling $313,062 in 24 counties.

Small grants are awarded quarterly to help nonprofits, educational organizations, government units, and federally recognized tribes to preserve and share Minnesota history. This cycle of awards was approved by the MNHS Executive Council on September 14, 2023.

Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants are made possible by the Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on Nov. 4, 2008. The Legacy Amendment supports efforts to preserve Minnesota land, water, and legacy, including Minnesota history and cultural heritage.

Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Small Grant Recipients
Recipients of small grants ($10,000 and less) from the fiscal year 2024 July small grants cycle are listed in alphabetical order below. Each project will preserve and enhance Minnesota’s cultural and historical resources. All grants are competitive and awarded according to program guidelines and criteria, as well as professional standards.

Belle Plaine Historical Society, Belle Plaine, $9,950
To purchase a microfilm reader/printer/scanner to make microfilmed records more accessible to the public.

Carver County Historical Society, Waconia, $10,000
To hire qualified consultants to develop and install an interactive touchscreen kiosk for Carver County Historical Society's veterans' exhibit.

City of Ely, Ely, $10,000
To document in 10 oral history interviews the history of Ely Memorial High School.

City of Excelsior, Excelsior, $10,000
To hire a qualified historian to complete an evaluation to determine eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places for the former circa 1951 First Church of Christ, Scientist building.

City of Hackensack, Hackensack, $10,000
To hire a qualified architect to conduct a conditions assessment of the 1936 Hackensack Conservation Building, now used as a public library.

City of Henning, Henning, $10,000
To hire a qualified architect to conduct a conditions assessment of the Lewis House and Medical Clinic, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

City of Winona, Winona, $10,000
To hire a qualified consultant to create historic preservation design guidelines for the Windom Park Residential Historic District.

Cottonwood County, Windom, $10,000
To contract with qualified professionals to prepare construction documents for the preservation of the 1904 Cottonwood County Courthouse, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Cultural Archive of Modern Paganism, Eagan, $9,600
To hire professionals to assess and write a collections plan for a historically significant collection, which will allow greater public access to this resource.

Dawson Historical Properties, Dawson, $9,500
To hire qualified professionals to replace the roof on the 1892 Commercial Bank Building, Dawson, MN, listed in the National Register of Historic Places and used as a museum.

Fillmore County Historical Society, Fountain, $9,945
To provide better organization of the museum collections, allowing for greater public access to the community’s historic resources.

Fridley Historical Society, Fridley, $10,000
To hire a qualified consultant to write an exhibit plan about the post-World War II development of Fridley, MN.

Gammelgarden Museum, Scandia, $4,250
To hire a consultant to evaluate public accessibility at Gammelgarden Museum and create a plan to better comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County, Moorhead, $10,000
To provide appropriate storage materials for the museum's textiles collection.

Houston Area Preservation Initiative, Houston, $4,500
To hire a qualified historian to complete the nomination to the National Register of Historic Places for the 1878 Nels and Emma M Forsyth House in Houston, MN.

Lac qui Parle County Historical Society, Madison, $1,676
To update security and functionality on a microfilm reader/printer/scanner to make microfilmed records more accessible to the public.

Maplewood Area Historical Society, Maplewood, $6,000
To hire a qualified and experienced security firm to evaluate the current level of museum security.

Minnesota Discovery Center, Chisholm, $9,996
To hire qualified professionals to produce short manuscripts on significant topics of Iron Range history.

Minnesota Special Education Leaders Foundation (MNSELF), Lake Elmo, $9,808
To hire qualified professionals to edit a manuscript on the history of educating children with disabilities in Minnesota.

Morrison County Historical Society, Little Falls, $10,000
To hire a qualified historian to complete an evaluation to determine eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places for the Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Memorial Museum in Little Falls, MN.

Nobles County Historical Society, Worthington, $9,980
To digitize a collection of negatives from 1957-1958, allowing for greater public access to these historic resources.

North Star Foundation of the Mesaba Incorporated, Hibbing, $10,000
To contract with qualified professionals to prepare construction documents for the preservation of the 1929 Mesaba Park Pavilion, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

PACER Center, Minneapolis, $9,858
To hire qualified professionals to produce a manuscript on the history of the PACER Center's 40+ years of service in Minnesota.

Portal Research, Minneapolis, $9,954
To hire a qualified historian to conduct primary source research on the history of the "Great Resignation" among teachers in Minnesota.

Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, St. Paul, $10,000
To hire qualified professionals to produce a manuscript on the history of the Black Baptist Church in Minnesota from 1878-1965.

Red Lake Nation College, Red Lake, $9,987
To digitize archival materials from the collections, including tapes, reel-to-reel, and documents, allowing for greater public access to these historic resources.

Red Lake Nation College, Red Lake, $4,000
To hire a qualified consultant to develop a disaster plan for the Red Lake Tribal Archives collection.

Regents of the University of Minnesota (University of Minnesota Press), Minneapolis, $10,000
To hire qualified professionals to publish a book on the history of Minnesota birds.

Sacred Heart Area Historical Society, Sacred Heart, $9,656
To improve collections care and management by developing a museum collections storage plan.

Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul, $8,865
To hire a qualified archaeologist to conduct a survey to document the sediment history of Lake Benton and Lake Hendricks in southwestern Minnesota.

SELCO Southeastern Libraries Cooperating Rochester, $9,500
To hire qualified professionals to publish a book on the 50-year history of Southeastern Libraries Cooperating (SELCO).

St. Olaf Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, $10,000
To hire a qualified architect to conduct a conditions assessment of the 1911 St. Olaf's Norwegian Lutheran Church, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Bakken Museum, Minneapolis, $4,200
To hire qualified consultants to update and add Dakota translations to outdoor exhibit labels pertaining to the Bde Maka Ska area.

Todd County Historical Society, Long Prairie $1,792
To add 22 rolls of microfilmed Todd County newspapers to make primary records more accessible to the public.

Township of Teien, Teien Township, $10,000
To hire a qualified architect to conduct a conditions assessment of the 1904 Teien Central School District No. 9 Schoolhouse.

Twin City Model Railroad Museum, St. Paul, $10,000
To hire a qualified consultant to write an exhibit plan for one of the museum's main gallery spaces.

About Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants
The Minnesota Historical Society received a legislative appropriation of $36.981 million for the 2024-2025 biennium, including funding for the Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage (“Legacy”) Grants: $6,451,000 for FY2024 and $7,035,000 for FY2025.

Grants are available for history and historic preservation projects in two funding tiers. Small grants of $10,000 or less are awarded quarterly. The next small grant application deadlines are January 12 and April 12, 2024. Large grants of more than $10,000 are offered once a year. All grants are administered through a competitive process using professional standards and criteria.

For more information on the Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants program, including application deadlines, visit www.mnhs.org/preservation/legacy-grants. Applications are accepted only through the MNHS grants portal.

About the Minnesota Historical Society
The Minnesota Historical Society is a non-profit educational and cultural institution established in 1849. MNHS collects, preserves, and tells the story of Minnesota’s past through museum exhibits, libraries, and collections, historic sites, educational programs, and book publishing. Using the power of history to transform lives, MNHS preserves our past, shares our state’s stories, and connects people with history.