Winter Lecture Series Returning to the Forest History Center in 2024

GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. (December 20, 2023) – Beginning in January, the Forest History Center will present guests with unique historical perspectives on the history of Northern Minnesota.

On select Saturdays through April, the 2024 winter lecture series will feature guest speakers sharing insights on topics ranging from natural history, Native American history, the history of Minnesota’s logging industry, and more.

Each lecture will take place from 1 pm–3 pm at the Forest History Center, located at 2609 County Road 76, Grand Rapids, MN 55744. The events are included in the cost of regular site admission. 

Whose Land is it, Anyway?, January 6, 2024
Come on a journey through time to learn how Northern Minnesota’s inhabitants, from 12,000 years ago to the 21st century, have transformed this land. Historian Mary Palcich Keyes tells the story of the north woods and its people.

The World that Grew from Stumps and Slash, January 20, 2024
As logging and mining in the United States expanded westward, piles of stumps and slash was left behind. However, as author Aaron J. Brown shares, that was not the end of the story. From stumps and slash, a new world emerged, changing the forests and those who called them home.

Logging Area Folksong in Northern Minnesota, January 27, 2024
Experience colorful local history through music, photos, and stories, as musician and historian Brian Miller crafts new arrangements of traditional folk songs from the logging era learned from 100-year-old recordings. Bring your instrument to join a friendly jam after!

Owls to Orchids, February 3, 2024
Explore northern black spruce and tamarack bogs without getting wet, frozen feet! Meet the region’s birds, flowers, and amphibians. Naturalist, publisher, and photographer Sparky Stensaas shares his wildlife photography and videos, featuring a variety of northern owls and beautiful orchids.

Pokegama and Gaaginwaajiwanaag, March 16, 2024
Prior to Euro-American settlement, Itasca County was inhabited for millennia by people indigenous to North America. However, that history is not often reflected in some Northern Minnesota communities. This project works to retrieve the stories of the Pokegama Band of the Mississippi Ojibwe that have been long neglected and ignored.

Wolves of Minnesota, April 13, 2024
Learn wolf ecology, wolf behavior, why wolves howl, how the wolf pack works as a group, and how the pack uses its territory. There will also be a discussion of how humans have viewed the wolf throughout history. This program includes a large wolf display that includes historical artifacts, skulls, pelts, and biological specimens.

More information about winter lectures and other events at the Forest History Center is available at mnhs.org/foresthistory. If interested in covering any of these programs, please contact Nick Jungheim.

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.