State government funding cuts of $5 million annually are jeopardizing the Minnesota Historical Society’s ability to serve the state. Help spread the word that History Matters in Minnesota! Write your state legislators and remind them that the Society:

• Plays an important role in the state’s education system
• Promotes tourism statewide
• Improves Minnesotans’ quality of life
• Serves key functions of state government, and
• Must have its funding restored!

Visit mnhs.org/historymatters to reach your legislator quickly.

The State Capitol turned 100 on January 2, 2005, and the Minnesota Historical Society has an entire year of celebratory events lined up. Meet costumed Civil War characters, learn about the art and architecture during guided tours, and get an up-close view of the “golden horses” statue at sunset. Visit the Capitol Centennial website for details and events.

On exhibition at Minnesota History Center in St. Paul is a St. Croix ceramic vessel, dating to the Woodland Period. Roughly 1,400 years old, it is the only completely intact prehistoric ceramic pot known to exist from this period. It was recovered in 1930 at Upper Hay Lake, north of Pequot Lakes.

Let the world – and your state legislator – know why history matters to you. Stop by one of our 25 historic sites and museums for a free History Matters button. Haven’t visited us for a while? We’re not far away. Hurry! Quantities are limited.

In his 30 years at Fort Snelling, Site Manager Steve Osman thought he’d seen everything, until a local fisherman recently discovered inscriptions carved in a nearby rock. Osman believes that members of the Eighth Minnesota Regiment left the markings in 1864. Learn more about the Fort Snelling Carvings.

Purchase a fun History Matters t-shirt, sweatshirt or tote bag and 20 percent of your purchase goes directly to the Minnesota Historical Society. Perfect for History Day kids, genealogists, teachers and history lovers of all ages.

Among the items to be considered by the 2005 Legislature is the capital budget or bonding bill. The Minnesota Historical Society requested funding for maintenance and upkeep of historic buildings, including the James J. Hill House, Historic Fort Snelling, Comstock House, Split Rock Lighthouse, Harkin Store, Folsom House and Ramsey House. Funding also was requested to revitalize Fort Snelling; provide county and local historic preservation grants; preserve visitor services and furnishings at the State Capitol; and acquire land at the Oliver Kelley Farm.

Help support the Society's capital budget. Urge your legislator to fund preservation Minnesota's most important historic structures.

Now is the perfect time to:

• Meet the Minnesota Historical Society Library
  
  
• Make a Prairie Basket with the Kids
  Jan. 22, Oliver H. Kelley Farm
  
  
• Celebrate Winter at the James J. Hill House
  

Take in a new History Center exhibit of 81 photographs from Larry Millett’s latest book, “Strange Days, Dangerous Nights: Photos from the Speed Graphic Era.” See the “sensational” photos of automobile accidents, urban curiosities, celebrities, fires and murders that fought for the front page of the Pioneer Press and St. Paul Dispatch.

• mnhs.org/strangedays

Beginning Jan. 11, visitors to the History Center Museum will pay a fee, as do visitors to most historic sites. (The library remains free.) Become a member and visit free at all 25 historic sites and museums. Then spread the word that membership is the best deal in history.

• New Hours & Fees

Visit Mill City Museum or the History Center and bring a friend for free. Just print out this coupon and join in the fun. Catch the Smithsonian exhibition, “The American Presidency” at the History Center in St. Paul. Then head over to Minneapolis and experience the power of flour at Mill City Museum. From 1880 to 1930, more than 12 million loaves of bread were made each day from the wheat milled at this National Historic Landmark.

• Printable Coupon