Fact Sheet

Background
The Minnesota Historical Society was created by the Territorial Legislature in 1849, as one of its first acts, even before statehood.

Ever since, the Minnesota Historical Society has joined with the state in preserving history. We owe it to future generations to be good stewards of our past. Today, the state provides approximately 2/3 of the Society's operating budget.

Since 2001, the Society's budget has been reduced by about $5 million per year , or approximately 18%. (In FY 2003, the state appropriation for MHS was $27,395,000. In FY 2005, that appropriation was $22,280,000.)

The Society's response to the budget reductions has been twofold:

  • It has worked to raise non-state funds to offset some lost state dollars and maintain program levels to the extent possible. As part of that effort, the Society has significantly increased donations to its Annual Fund and is working to increase its membership and endowment .
  • On the cost reduction side, the Society has eliminated 85 full-time positions (24% of its full-time staff) and a number of part-time positions. The Society has also streamlined its management , reducing the number of departments by 1/3 (from 21 to 14).

Operations
The Society preserves the state's history for the people of Minnesota, both today's citizens and future generations. This is done through:

  • Collections, including manuscripts, state archives and 3-dimensional objects
  • History Center Library, where these materials are available to the public.
  • History Center Museum
  • Mill City Museum
  • Education of the state's schoolchildren who use the Society's curriculum materials, which meet the new education standards. 252,584 children participated in the school programs at the Society's museums and historic sites (86,984 at the History Center; 140,600 at Historic Sites; 25,000 at Mill City Museum).
  • Historic Sites and Museums in 25 locations where schoolchildren, families and tourists learn about our state's past. Over 1 million people visit these places each year. As a partial response to state budget cuts, the Society proposed closing 7 of these historic sites, but community supporters resisted and rallied to raise local dollars to keep these sites open. Local fundraising efforts have provided a short-term solution, but cannot continue indefinitely. The sites involved include the James J. Hill House in St. Paul, the Oliver H. Kelley Farm in Elk River, the Forest History Center in Grand Rapids, Historic Forestville near Preston, Fort Ridgely near Redwood Falls, and the Comstock House in Moorhead. The Society is providing funding sufficient to protect these historic sites, but their continued operation at this time depends on local support. The Lower Sioux Agency historic site was closed in July 1, 2004.
  • Website - the Society's website provides access to information about the state's history to over 3 million people each year .
  • Historic Preservation – the Society assists local governments and building owners in preserving the state's most important historic structures, including providing grants for publicly owned historic buildings including city halls, libraries and county courthouses.
  • The Society is a bargain for the state's people who pay the equivalent of only $4.23 per person each year to preserve their state's story.

Collections
The Minnesota Historical Society preserves collections that tell the story of Minnesota through the ages. Some artifacts are thousands of years old. Many items predate the history of the state itself. Included are:

  • 176,712 Books
  • 70,369 Periodicals
  • 166,700 Pamphlets
  • 353,178 Photographs
  • 1,437 Sound Recordings
  • 1,114 Films and Videos
  • 19,277 Maps and 2,027 Atlases
  • 6,072 Art Works
  • 1,783 Oral History Interviews
  • 4,139 Newspaper Titles; Newspapers are on 69,484 Microfilm Reels
  • 36,538 cubic feet of Manuscripts, 5,922 Microfilm Reels
  • 54,743 cubic feet of State Archives, 11,853 Microfilm Reels
  • 232,456 Historical Objects
  • 1,152,504 Archeological Artifacts