A Minnesota summer wouldn’t be complete without a historic adventure, whether it’s a family road trip, weekend getaway with friends, or a staycation that lets you get to see your hometown in a whole new way.
Learn about our historic sites and museums
MNHS historic sites and museums offer unique insights into Minnesota’s past and present.
Come explore the lives of lumberjacks, learn about present-day Native American culture and how history shaped it, step into the world of famous Minnesotans, or take in spectacular views!
Summer fun at Oliver Kelley Farm.
Make these must-see historic sites part of your summer plans
In the metro
- Alexander Ramsey House
St. Paul - Historic Fort Snelling
St. Paul - James J. Hill House
St. Paul - Mill City Museum
Minneapolis - Minnehaha Depot
Minneapolis - Minnesota History Center
St. Paul - Minnesota State Capitol
St. Paul - Oliver Kelley Farm
Elk River - Sibley Historic Site
Mendota
In Greater Minnesota
- Birch Coulee Battlefield
Morton - Charles Lindbergh House and Museum
Little Falls - Comstock House
Moorhead - Folsom House
Taylors Falls - Forest History Center
Grand Rapids - Fort Ridgely
Fort Ridgely State Park - Harkin Store
New Ulm - Historic Forestville
Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park - Jeffers Petroglyphs
Comfrey
- Lac qui Parle Mission
Montevideo - Lower Sioux Agency
Morton - Marine Mill
Marine on St. Croix - Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post
Onamia - Snake River Fur Post
Pine City - Split Rock Lighthouse
north of Two Harbors - Traverse des Sioux
St. Peter - W. W. Mayo House
Le Sueur
Alexander Ramsey House
Built for Minnesota’s controversial first territorial governor, this residence—one of the nation’s best-preserved Victorian-era homes—will immerse you in 1870s life and the spirit of the times through special events and holiday programs.
- Over 14,000 original furnishings
- Museum store
265 S. Exchange St.
St. Paul, MN 55102
Google Map of Alexander Ramsey House
Admission & Hours: 651-296-8760
Alexander Ramsey House website
Birch Coulee Battlefield
Guideposts pinpoint the US and Dakota positions at the site of one of the hardest-fought battles in the US-Dakota War of 1862.
- Self-guided prairie trail
- Markers with accounts of the battle by an Army captain and a Mdewakanton (Dakota) soldier
Jct of Renville Cty Hwy 2 and Hwy 18
Morton, MN 56270
Google Map of Birch Coulee Battlefield
Admission & Hours: Free, dawn to dusk. 800-657-3773
Birch Coulee Battlefield website
Charles Lindbergh House and Museum
A national historic landmark. Explore the complicated legacy of the celebrated aviator as you tour his childhood home, view historic flight footage, browse museum exhibits, and sit in a replica of Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis” cockpit.
- Guided house tours & events
- Exhibits on Lindbergh’s aviation, inventions, environmental activism & political controversy
- Riverside walking trail
- Museum store
1620 Lindbergh Drive S.
Little Falls, MN 56345
Google Map of Charles Lindbergh House and Museum
Admission & Hours: 320-616-5421
Charles Lindbergh House and Museum website
Comstock House
Learn the story of the pioneering Comstocks and their impact on history as you tour their 1883 family home, which showcases ornate Queen Anne and Eastlake furniture and tapestries.
- Guided tours & seasonal events
- Managed by The Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County
506 Eighth St. S.
Moorhead, MN 56560
Google Map of Comstock House
Admission & Hours: 218-291-4211
Folsom House
Tour the meticulously restored 1855 New England style home of W.H.C. Folsom—Maine transplant turned lumber baron and Minnesota state senator.
- American Empire & Louis XV Revival furniture
- St. Croix River views
- Historic Angel Hill District location
- Managed by Taylors Falls Historical Society
272 West Government Street
Taylors Falls, MN 55084
Google Map of Folsom House
Admission & Hours: 651-465-3125
Forest History Center
Meet lumberjacks, climb a 100-ft. 1930s fire tower, board the floating cook shack, and enjoy nature programs and events at this interactive logging camp.
- Blacksmith, cook, lumberjacks & draft horses
- Exhibits on ecology & forestry
- Timber harvester simulator
- GeoTrack program
- Walking/ biking/XC ski trails
- Museum store
2609 County Road 76
Grand Rapids, MN 55744
Google Map of Forest History Center
Admission & Hours: 218-327-4482
Fort Ridgely
Interpretive ground markers and exhibits tell the tale of this 1853 military outpost, which saw combat during the US-Dakota War of 1862.
- Reconstructed foundations of 1853 fort
- Commissary building restored by the Veterans Conservation Corps
- Managed by Nicollet County Historical Society
- State Park vehicle permit required
72404 County Road 30
(Located within Fort Ridgely State Park, off MN Hwy. 4)
Fairfax, MN 55332
Google Map of Fort Ridgely
Admission & Hours: 507-628-5591
Harkin Store
Step into an authentic general store, just as it was in 1871. Play a game of checkers by the stove and enjoy views of the Minnesota River from the front porch. Programs every Sunday, May–mid-Oct.
- Costumed guides
- Museum store
- Managed by Nicollet County Historical Society
66250 County Road 21
New Ulm, MN
Google Map of Harkin Store
Admission & Hours: 507-628-5591
Historic Forestville
A new 45-minute tour will illuminate the 1853–1910 history of this site as you visit the historic house, office, store, garden, and barn. Explore questions about the choices and changes that faced the inhabitants of this area—from ancient peoples to today’s residents. Round out the visit with a game of croquet or horseshoes on the lawn.
- Special events
- Museum store
- State Park vehicle permit required
21899 County Road 118
(Located within Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park)
Preston, MN 55965
Google Map of Historic Forestville
Admission & Hours: 507-765-2785
Historic Fort Snelling
A national historic landmark. Explore the voices and stories of the men, women, and children who crossed paths here over the centuries—from the Dakota, Ojibwe, and enslaved and free African Americans, to fur traders, immigrants, soldiers, and veterans.
- Costumed history players and non-costumed interpreters
- Demonstrations of historical games, skills & military tactics
- Self-guided & theme tours
- Activity stations
- Exhibits
- Programs & events
- Dred & Harriet Scott’s 1836–1840 living quarters
- Museum store
200 Tower Ave.
(Adjacent to Fort Snelling State Park)
St. Paul, MN 55111
Google Map of Historic Fort Snelling
Admission & Hours: 612-726-1171
Historic Fort Snelling website
James J. Hill House
A national historic landmark. Explore upstairs and downstairs life in Minnesota’s Downton Abbey—a 36,000-square-foot Gilded Age mansion built for James J. Hill, railroad titan and empire-builder.
- Guided tours, art exhibits & special events
- Original stained glass, woodwork & chandeliers
- Museum store
240 Summit Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55102
Google Map of James J. Hill House
Admission & Hours: 651-297-2555
Jeffers Petroglyphs
Older than Stonehenge. Find sacred Native American rock carvings of buffalo, turtles, thunderbirds, and humans in a native prairie setting.
- Estimated 5,000 carvings up to 7,000 years old
- Tallgrass prairie including over 300 species of prairie plants
- Special events
- Guided tours
- Museum store
27160 County Road 2
Comfrey, MN 56019
Google Map of Jeffers Petroglyphs
Admission & Hours: 507-628-5591
Lac qui Parle Mission
Explore exhibits and artifacts illuminating the history of this reconstructed 1835 mission, where the first Dakota dictionary, grammar, and gospel were completed.
- Chapel built in 1940s by Works Progress Administration (WPA)
- Managed by Chippewa County Historical Society
Jct of Chippewa County Hwy. 13 and County Rd. 32
Montevideo, MN 56265
Google Map of Lac qui Parle Mission
Admission & Hours: 320-269-7636
Lower Sioux Agency
Learn about the causes of the US-Dakota War of 1862 through special programs and exhibits, in the place where the war’s first attack took place.
- Exhibit on Dakota culture
- Minnesota River trails
- Museum store
- Managed by Lower Sioux Indian Community
32469 Redwood County Hwy. 2
Morton, MN 56270
Google Map of Lower Sioux Agency
Admission & Hours: 507-697-8673
Marine Mill
Interpretive signs guide you through the story of Minnesota’s first commercial sawmill, built in 1839.
- Scenic walking trail above sawmill foundation ruins and views of Mill Stream and falls
- Managed by the City of Marine on St. Croix
Judd Street
Marine on St. Croix, MN 55047
Google Map of Marine Mill
Admission & Hours: Free, dawn to dusk. 651-433-3636
Mill City Museum
A national historic landmark. Built within the ruins of what was once the world’s largest flour mill, this fun, interactive museum invites the whole family to ride the Flour Tower elevator, experience hands-on fun in the Water & Baking Labs, and enjoy rooftop views of the Mississippi River, St. Anthony Falls, and lock and dam.
- Award-winning short film, Minneapolis in 19 Minutes Flat!
- Special events
- Exhibits
- Museum store & café
704 South 2nd St.
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Google Map of Mill City Museum
Admission & Hours: 612-341-7555
Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post
Explore Ojibwe culture and history through videos, exhibits, demos, and activities at this interactive museum, and shop for a wide selection of Native American art by local and regional artists in the adjacent 1930s trading post.
- Traditional Ojibwe garden
- Tour of Four Seasons Room, with life-sized dioramas
- Museum store
43411 Oodena Dr.
Onamia, MN 56359
Google Map of Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post
Admission & Hours: 320-532-3632
Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post website
Minnehaha Depot
Visit “The Princess,” an authentic 1875 gingerbread-style train depot built along the first Minneapolis-to-Chicago rail line—located within walking distance of the famed Minnehaha Falls.
- Managed by the Minnesota Transportation Museum
Minnehaha Park
(Hwy 55 & Minnehaha Parkway)
Minneapolis, MN 55417
Google Map of Minnehaha Depot
Admission & Hours: 651-228-0263
Minnesota History Center
This action-packed museum stimulates your curiosity about Minnesota stories, people, and history through permanent and changing exhibits, programs, and events.
- Exhibits include Then Now Wow and Minnesota’s Greatest Generation
- Concerts, lectures & other events
- History learning stations & history players
- Museum store & café
345 W. Kellogg Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55102
Google Map of Minnesota History Center
Admission & Hours: 651-259-3000
Gale Family Library at the Minnesota History Center
Research your family history and much more at this important library and repository of state archives. Free and open to the public.
Hours: 651-259-3300
Minnesota History Center website
Minnesota State Capitol
Tour a newly restored masterpiece by influential architect Cass Gilbert, featuring the second-largest self-supporting marble dome in the world.
- State Senate, House & Supreme Court chambers
- Civil War & Spanish- American War flags
- Decorative & fine art throughout building
- Monuments on Capitol Mall
- Guided tours
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155
Google Map of Minnesota State Capitol
Admission & Hours: 651-296-2881
Minnesota State Capitol website
Snake River Fur Post
Formerly North West Company Fur Post. Meet a voyageur and other costumed interpreters, visit an Ojibwe encampment, and try out wood carving or other traditional skills. This museum and reconstructed 1804-era trading post focus on the intersection of voyageurs, fur traders, and Ojibwe culture.
- Guided tours
- Exhibits on the fur trade
- Demonstrations
- Snake River heritage trails
- Museum store
12551 Voyageur Lane
Pine City, MN 55063
Google Map of Snake River Fur Post
Admission & Hours: 320-629-6356
Oliver Kelley Farm
A national historic landmark. See, touch, do, and taste as you learn the story of Minnesota farming, food, and agriculture—past and present.
- Modern Farm Lab, fields & barn
- Learning Kitchen
- 1860s farmstead, fields & garden
- Heritage & modern breeds of farm animals
- 2.5-mile Mississippi River trail
- Museum store
15788 Kelley Farm Rd.
Elk River, MN 55330
Google Map of Oliver Kelley Farm
Admission & Hours: 763-441-6896
Sibley Historic Site
Explore the many faces of the state’s first governor, Henry Sibley, a fur trader who lived at this site. Through events and seasonal guided tours, you can explore four of Minnesota’s oldest surviving buildings and learn about Mendota’s past.
- Managed by Dakota County Historical Society
1357 Sibley Memorial Hwy.
Mendota, MN
Google Map of Sibley Historic Site
Admission & Hours: 651-452-1596
Split Rock Lighthouse
A national historic landmark. One of Minnesota’s best-known landmarks, this North Shore icon was built after a rash of 1905 shipwrecks. Enjoy spectacular Lake Superior views and photo opportunities, plus guided tours of the restored lighthouse and keeper’s home.
- Film & exhibits, including an exhibit on Lake Superior shipwrecks
- Costumed guides
- Museum store
3713 Split Rock Lighthouse Rd.
Two Harbors, MN 55616
Google Map of Split Rock Lighthouse
Admission & Hours: 218-226-6372
Traverse des Sioux
At this centuries-old Minnesota River crossing—the site of the 1851 US-Dakota land treaty—you can walk trails and view exhibits on the treaty, Dakota culture, and the fur trade.
- Adjacent to the Treaty Site History Center
- Managed by Nicollet County Historical Society
1851 N. Minnesota Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
Google Map of Traverse des Sioux
Admission & Hours: 507-934-2160
W. W. Mayo House
Tour the handbuilt 1859 home and furnishings of the first Dr. Mayo of Mayo Clinic fame and his medical practice—a home later owned by a founder of Minnesota Valley Canning (Green Giant).
118 N. Main St.
Le Sueur, MN 56058
Google Map of W. W. Mayo House
Admission & Hours: 507-665-3250
Become a member
The easiest way to access one (or all) of these adventures is with an MNHS membership. Members get FREE access to all MNHS sites and discounts on purchases.