Save the Date: June 28th kicks-off a celebration of Northfield Girl Scouts – Then & Now at the Northfield Historical Society. The public is invited to both Bridge Square, where there will be songs, activities, and demonstrations, as well as touring the historical society’s exhibit on opening night 6-9 p.m. The exhibit will run until mid-August.

Those affiliated with Girl Scouts, at any point in their life, are encouraged to share favorite stories/memories to add to this historic event. Email rosen@stolaf.edu and please indicate the troop #, unit, and town you participated in while in Girl Scouts. This information will be used as part of the historical documentation for the Northfield Historical Society’s event and for use in its archives. We hope to gather a great collection of favorite troop stories and photos throughout the years. 

Last, we are interested in collecting memorabilia for the display. Items will be accepted up until May 23 at the Northfield Girl Scout Service Center located at 1025 North Hwy 3. If you have questions please  call Elaine Grisim at the Northfield Girl Scout Office at 507.645.6603 x1530. Please see the attachments for submission forms.

Northfield Historical Society Loan Agreement Form

Girl Scouts Donation Form

Wow, last week was an amazing week for NHS!

On Thursday we opened our newest exhibit, The History of Telephones in Northfield.  The exhibit is sponsored by the St. Olaf Telephone Office and will be up until late June!

On Sunday, over 200 people packed the Weitz Center for Creativity to hear Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies Professor Carol Donelan talk about here book, Electric Theater: The Emergence of Cinema in Northfield 1896-1971.  Sorry for the quality of the photo from Sunday, all I had was my cell phone camera.

The History of Telephones in Northfield, Exhibit Opening Photos

Last Thursday, February 16, we hosted former NHS and Rice County Historical Society Board President Jim Stark’s presentation Why the Civil War was Fought: The Antebellum Period.  There were 47 people in attendance.  Everyone in attendance got a very detailed account of the events that lead to the Civil War.

This Thursday, February 23. NHS will unveil our new exhibit, The History of Telephones. The exhibit opening is from 6-8.  This exhibit is a

We  will unveil our new exhibit, “The History of Telephones in Northfield,” Thursday, Feb. 23, with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at NHS, 408 Division Street, Northfield.

The exhibit, sponsored and provided by the St. Olaf College Telephone Company, will chronicle the history of telecommunications in Northfield and Dundas. The multi-media display will use photos, audio, movies and old equipment — including antique phones and switchboards — to tell this fascinating story. You will learn of the first phone hookup in 1880 between the Ames Mill in Northfield and the Dundas Mill. You will be able to use an actual crank telephone and manipulate the switchboard installed by the Archer House in 1960. You will be able to see and feel how telephone cable evolved into the supple, fiber optic connection that today transmits voices at the speed of light.

The exhibit gives us a comprehensive look at a utility that helped transform the community.  This is a truly fascinating story of how technology changed the commercial and social patterns of our community. It reminds us of how people continuously adapt to new inventions and changing times.”

The exhibit will run through June 22. The Northfield Historical Society is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 4 p.m.

The exhibit was also sponsored by Northfield News and KYMN Radio.

This is your last chance to view the Celebrating 100 years of the St. Olaf Christmas Festival exhibit.  The exhibit will close on Wednesday February 15.  So if you have not had a chance to see it come into NHS this week!

We are excited to present “Hmong Textiles: A Culture on Cloth.” Graciously loaned to NHS by long-time Northfield residents Elvin and Corrine Heiberg, the exhibit tells the story behind traditional Hmong needlecraft. A Spotlight on Collections program, it is included in the admission to the bank raid exhibit.

Spotlight on Collections features collections from Northfield residents, as well as our archives. If you have a collection you would like to share with your neighbors and visitors to the museum, we encourage you to contact Bob Davies, Exhibits Committee at 645-2989, or Hayes Scriven, NHS Executive Director at 645-9268.

About six months ago, Tim Freeland came to me with an idea which was based on the Dear Photograph site, which superimposes old photos over current times, with the old photo held up in reference and the hand seen in the final product.  He showed me a submission of his which was one of the first to be posted to their site.  The basic idea behind the project is that you take a historical photograph and overlay it on a present day view.  It was a great idea so Tim and I decided to create a video utilizing various historical photos framed over modern day Northfield .  With some artistic direction from Adam Gurno we came up with this.  We hope you enjoy!