Welcome to the Jackson County Historical Society!
Preserving Yesterday and Today for Tomorrow
307 North Highway 86 - PO Box 238 Lakefield, MN 56150
507-662-5505 jchsmn1925@gmail.com
Upcoming Events
Recent News
Annual Meeting Set
The Jackson County Historical Society is holding its annual meeting at the museum on Saturday, January 18, 2025, at 2:00 PM, with a make-up date for January 25 in case of inclement weather. We will recap the Historical Society’s successful 2024 year, hold elections for our Board of Directors, and enjoy a presentation by our guest speaker. Light refreshments will be included.
We are excited to have Kevin Mason, PhD, as our guest speaker this year. Mason is a rural and environmental historian of the American Midwest. Trained at Iowa State, Mason’s PhD work focused on environmental change along the Iowa-Minnesota frontier, preceding the 1857 violence at Spirit Lake, commonly called “The Spirit Lake Massacre.” Mason is an Associate Professor of History and Departmental Chair for History, Geography, and Political Science at Waldorf University in Forest City, Iowa, and runs the digital humanities project “Notes on Iowa.”
In Mason’s presentation, Spirit Lake 1857, we are invited to come and explore one of the most infamous frontier events, the clash of the Dakota with settlers along the Iowa-Minnesota border during the spring of 1857. Historian Kevin Mason will provide insights into the developing frontier of the 1850s, the violence at Spirit Lake, and new developments in research surrounding the events.
Published December 27, 2024
Give to the Max!
We are now just a week away from Give to the Max! Day 2024, a day to encourage giving to charitable organizations in the State of Minnesota. This year, we are raising money for necessary repairs to one of Jackson County's oldest buildings: the Halsten Olson cabin. 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of its move from Section 34 of Belmont Township to the Jackson County fairgrounds, and we want to celebrate its diamond jubilee by ensuring the building can be enjoyed by the citizens of Jackson County for another 75 years. We hope to replace several of the building's original logs, rechink the cabin, and add new interpretive materials to highlight its importance to Jackson County. If you want to see this relic of Jackson County's pioneer era preserved for future generations, please give today!
Published November 14, 2024
Grant Received; Now Hiring!
We are pleased to announce that we received another grant from the Minnesota Historical Society to continue our work inventorying the JCHS artifact collection, the third such grant we have received for this project. Through these grants, we have made immense progress in reorganizing our storage space, getting to know our collection, and increasing accessibility to the collections. We are looking for a Collections Assistant to help us with this inventory. Call the museum at (507) 662-5505 or email us at jchsmn1925@gmail.com if you have any questions. Additional information about the position can be found here.