In Focus: Crow Wing County Historical Society Celebrating 97th Anniversary

The Crow Wing County Historical Society Museum and Library is weeks away from celebrating its 97th anniversary.

Originally the Crow Wing County Jail from 1917 until the late ’60s, the museum tells the history of both Crow Wing County and Brainerd as a whole. The museum and library has been serving the community and collecting pieces of history since 1927.

“We have collections that go very far back, but we continue to collect today,” explained Hillary Swanson, the historical society’s executive director. “We get donations probably on a weekly basis, people bringing in old family items, photographs.”

One of the museum’s many contributors, Sarah Thorp Heald, is also one of most featured curators, as she gifted her entire catalog to the museum, including some of her father Freeman Thorp’s work.

“She was a founding member of the society and actually worked here also,” stated Swanson. “She’s just a neat, historic character. [I] just really appreciate walking through the hall and seeing what she left here.”

But when it comes to impact on Crow Wing County and the city of Brainerd, few exhibits highlight that better than the Northern Pacific Railroad, since little ol’ Brainerd served as the railroad’s international headquarters.

“With that, they built huge manufacturing facilities here that basically were the base of our economy for decades, all the way from the 1870s up until the 1970s,” Swanson added.

The Crow Wing County Historical Society Museum & Library contains a rich tapestry of exhibits illustrating the county’s history. One such exhibit is the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s residence, as there was once a time when the sheriff’s entire family lived right next to the county jail.

“At one time, it was commonplace that a sheriff would live on site with the jail,” said Swanson. “You were just a wall away and your mother would have been cooking food for you and for people in the jail. It’s an interesting thing for people to see.”

For her part, Swanson hopes more county residents stop by the museum for a trip back in time. “We appreciate all of the support that we get from the community, and we would just love to see more local people coming in to see what we have here.”

The museum will hold its 97th annual meeting at Gather on 3 on April 23. More information on the Crow Wing County Historical Society can be found on their website.