Soo Line Depot Museum Takes Visitors Through the History of Cuyuna Range Area

The Soo Line Depot Museum in Crosby in first opened its doors in 1970 and has been collecting local artifacts ever since. The building, located at the corner on First Avenue and First Street, is still preserving the past.

“Over the years we’ve acquired so much that we’re bursting at the seams here, so to speak,” said Cuyuna Iron Range Heritage Network President Tim Leonard. “We’re very picky on what we’d like to take in. And mostly we want it to relate to the Iron Range.”

They have everything from rock collections to snowmobiles, and even a replica capsule from the Manhigh Mission, a pre-Space Age project. But the museum also has stories: some about gangsters, some about the depot itself, and lots about the Milford mine disaster.

“We’ve got booklets and booklets and books, stacks of paper documenting all that,” said Leonard. “We’ve even got the blueprint of the mine itself and we highlight that a lot.”

The museum is completely run by volunteers and funded through donations. It is open from Memorial Day Weekend to Labor Day Weekend on Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Someone is always available to give you a tour, or you can browse the museum on your own.