Legacy Amendment Supports $253,605 in Small Grants to History Organizations Throughout Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (November 12, 2024) – The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is pleased to announce the newest recipients of 30 Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Small Grants ($10,000 and less), totaling $253,605 in 15 counties.

Small grants are awarded quarterly to help nonprofits, educational organizations, government units, and federally recognized tribes to preserve and share Minnesota history. This cycle of awards was approved by the MNHS Executive Council on September 19, 2024.

Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants are made possible by the Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on Nov. 4, 2008. The Legacy Amendment supports efforts to preserve Minnesota land, water, and legacy, including Minnesota history and cultural heritage.

Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Small Grant Recipients
Recipients of small grants ($10,000 and less) from the fiscal year 2025 July small grants cycle are listed in alphabetical order below. Each project will preserve and enhance Minnesota’s cultural and historical resources. All grants are competitive and awarded according to program guidelines and criteria, as well as professional standards.

Afton Historical Society Press, Edina, $10,000
To hire qualified professionals to publish a book on Carrol Henderson's historic work at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Anoka County Library, Blaine, $6840
To purchase a microfilm reader/printer/scanner to make microfilmed records more accessible to the public.

Bloomington Historical Society, Bloomington, $2550
To improve collections care and management through an updated collections management system.

Caponi Art Park, Eagan, $9516
To provide better organization of the museum collections, allowing for greater public access to the community’s historic resources.

Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour, Faribault, $9900
To hire a qualified architect to conduct a water infiltration assessment of the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour's Guild House, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

City of Barrett, Barrett, $6071
To hire a qualified historian to complete the nomination to the National Register of Historic Places for the Barrett Lakeside Pavilion.

City of Henning, Henning, $10,000
To contract with qualified professionals to prepare construction documents for the preservation of the Lewis House & Medical Clinic, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and used as a community center.

East Side Freedom Library, Saint Paul, $10,000
To document in four oral history interviews the history of Southeast Asian women leaders and elders in Minnesota.

Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, Saint Paul, $7500
To hire professionals to assess and write collections management and storage plans for a historically significant library collection, which will allow greater public access to these resources.

Gammelgarden Museum, Scandia, $8185
To hire a qualified and experienced security firm to evaluate the current level of museum security.

Gammelgarden Museum, Scandia, $4680
To monitor, assess, and make necessary changes to environmental controls at the museum.

Gammelgarden Museum, Scandia, $5159
To purchase materials to assemble a Disaster Response Kit that will be used to respond to museum collections emergencies.

Grant County Historical Society, Elbow Lake, $9900
To purchase a microfilm reader/printer/scanner to make microfilmed records more accessible to the public.

Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, Saint Paul, $8400
To hire a qualified author to produce a manuscript on the history of Rondo athletes.

Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County, Moorhead, $10,000
To digitize a collection of archival scrapbooks, allowing for greater public access to these historic resources.

Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County, Moorhead, $10,000
To hire a qualified conservator to restore a significant painting in the museum’s collections.

Jackson County Historical Society, Lakefield, $7600
To provide better organization of the museum collections, allowing for greater public access to the community’s historic resources.

Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest, Minneapolis, $9065
To hire qualified professionals to publish a book on the history of Jewish people in Brown County, Minnesota.

Lake Benton Opera House, Inc., Lake Benton, $10,000
To hire a qualified architect to conduct a conditions assessment of the Lake Benton Opera House and Kimball Building, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Life Tabernacle Church, Hastings, $10,000
To contract with qualified professionals to prepare construction documents and a treatment plan for the preservation of stained glass windows in the 1861 Hastings Methodist Episcopal Church, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Macalester College, Saint Paul, $10,000
To bring together history professionals to discuss the significance of the Hmong Archives ahead of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Southeast Asians arriving in Minnesota.

Maplewood Area Historical Society, Maplewood, $9700
To hire a qualified historian to conduct primary source research on the history of the Hughes Neighborhood in Maplewood, MN.

Minneota Public Schools (ISD #414), Minneota, $6000
To add Minnesota and Indigenous culture and history resources to the school's classrooms to help them meet education standards.

Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Society, Saint Paul, $10,000
To provide appropriate storage area and materials for an archival collection.

Scandia Heritage Alliance, Scandia, $10,000
To document in oral history interviews the history of post World War II Scandia, Minnesota.

The Historic Irvine Park Association, Saint Paul, $7265
To hire qualified professionals to produce a guide book on the history of Irvine Park in Saint Paul.

United Way of Northeastern Minnesota, Chisholm, $9000
To document in up to 50 oral history transcripts the history of veterans in northeastern Minnesota.

University Baptist Church, Minneapolis, $10,000
To hire a qualified historian to complete an evaluation to determine eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places for the 1920s University Baptist Church.

West Union Lutheran Church, Cologne, $10,000
To hire a qualified architect to conduct a conditions assessment of the 1905 West Union Lutheran Church, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Winona County Historical Society, Winona, $6274
To hire a qualified historian to conduct primary source research on the history of Matilda Bunnell, who was part of a fur trade family in what would become Winona County, Minnesota.

About Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants
The Minnesota Historical Society received a legislative appropriation of $36.981 million for the 2024-2025 biennium, including funding for the Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage (Legacy) Grants: $8,677,000 for FY2024 and $7,035,000 for FY2025.

Grants are available for history and historic preservation projects in two funding tiers. Small grants of $10,000 or less are awarded quarterly. The next small grant application deadlines are January 10, 2025 and April 11, 2025. Large grants of more than $10,000 are offered once a year. All grants are administered through a competitive process using professional standards and criteria.

For more information on the Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants program, including application deadlines, visit www.mnhs.org/preservation/legacy-grants. Applications are accepted only through the MNHS grants portal.

About the Minnesota Historical Society
The Minnesota Historical Society is a non-profit educational and cultural institution established in 1849. MNHS collects, preserves, and tells the story of Minnesota’s past through museum exhibits, libraries, and collections, historic sites, educational programs, and book publishing. Using the power of history to transform lives, MNHS preserves our past, shares our state’s stories, and connects people with history.