If you haven’t been to our museum here in Madison, you don’t know what you are missing! I have to admit that I am a bit prejudiced as I am on the board. There is so much to see and the staff is so helpful when someone is looking for information and the events are so much fun and educational. An example of one of my favoirite events was the Bridal event held at the VFW in June of 2023. The 1980 Farm Crisis program that was presented in May 2024 was attended by more than 80 people. The displays are changed many times a year. Come and see what is at the museum that is about your family or school, you will be amazed!

When I first drove up to the Lac qui Parle County Museum many years ago, I saw a cozy log building and I assumed that this was going to be a rather small museum. To my surprise, when I got inside, I found it very large and very comprehensive. There are displays for each of the 22 townships in the county that the townships can update as they desire. There re displays of artifacts from the earliest days of Lac qui Parle County to more modern times. There are rooms of period furniture, military displays, and much more. The grounds contain an authentic one-room school, log cabin and gas station. There is a machine shed full of antique machinery and vehicles. And just as important, there is a large research area where visitors can look up genealogy, obituaries, information on the different towns in the county and its businesses. I enjoyed my visit so much that I started volunteering there. It is well worth the time to stop and visit.

I’ve worked at this museum for just over a year, and one of the things that still surprises me is just how much we have here. Everyday there is a “new” newspaper story to find, a “new” person’s life to learn about, and a “new” artifact to examine. I frequently hear from other guests how impressed they are by how many items and stories we have that they recognize and how much we have that they had no idea about at all.

Not only is the Lac qui Parle Historical Society and Museum filled with a vast variety of artifacts, it is also filled with a committed and vibrant community of people responsible for presentations and activities that help bring history to life for people of all ages!