The display includes a selection of antique toys and dolls.   

The 18

Come and learn about the 18 volunteers from St. Louis County who signed up to fight in the American Civil War; remarkably, these 18 individuals also played a pivotal role in the development of Duluth and the County. The opening event for the new exhibit will be held at the St. Louis County Heritage & Arts Center (the Depot) on Tuesday, January 25th, with a social hour at 5pm and a 10-minute program at 6pm, to be followed by the unveiling of the exhibit. The exhibit will be on display in the Small Fesler Gallery at the St. Louis County Heritage & Arts Center (the Depot).

At the time of the Civil War, about 350 people lived in this area. The exhibit showcases the lives of the 18 men who went to fight for the Union. Among these 18 individuals was the City of Duluth's future first mayor; St. Louis County's future first sheriff; the person who built the first frame house in Duluth; and a member of the Merritt family, who was among the first to discover iron ore on the Range.

While the exhibit is on display at the Depot, a number of items that are of incredible significance to our local history—and most of which the public has never seen before—will also be on display: the remains of a Civil War cannonball, swords used by Confederate and Union officers, and a cross section of a piece of oak tree brought back from Gettysburg, in which a Minie-ball is embedded. These pieces and others graciously drawn from the St. Louis County Historical Society's collection enhance the exhibit.

This exhibit is the result of the Veterans' Memorial Hall's intern program. It was researched and prepared by two local students, Roxanne Backowski from St. Scholastica and Lauren Lundberg from the University of Minnesota Duluth, under the guidance of Dan Hartman. 

Contact:  Dan Hartman

(218) 310-5356

560 West Michigan Street

Duluth, MN  55802

dhartman@vets-hall.org

The Veterans' Memorial Hall Facebook page has photos at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=307365&id=91893442027&ref=mf.  

Generations of Service

Veterans’ Memorial Hall, a program of the St. Louis County Historical Society, invites the public to its newest long-term exhibit, Generations of Service. This new exhibit presents the history of our local veterans from the Civil War to the Global War on Terror.

The exhibit officially opened to the public on Friday, August 7, 2009, and will continue to be open during regular museum hours of the St. Louis County Heritage & Arts Center. The exhibit will be a long-term exhibit on display for up to five years, though artifacts will be rotated.  Admission is free to the public.

This exhibit includes artifacts such as a cannonball from the Civil War, to a leather bomber jacket worn by Harold Rutka in WWII, to a SCUD missile component from Desert Shield/Storm. Also, there is a three-dimensional underground mine scene, which focuses on the home front story.  At another point, visitors can walk through a scene from Iraq, based on photos from a local veteran, Mark Hilleren.

Veterans’ Memorial Hall was established in 1909 and is a program of the St. Louis County Historical Society. It is the mission of Veterans’ Memorial Hall to preserve and collect veterans’ artifacts and to educate the general public about the history of veterans from northeastern Minnesota.

Contact:  Daniel Hartman
(218) 733-7500
506 West Michigan Street
Duluth, MN 55802
dhartman@vets-hall.org 

Duluth Artist Loans Four Paintings for Exhibit at Depot   

The St. Louis County Historical Society is pleased to announce that Duluth artist Dale Lyons has loaned four original paintings for exhibit within the J. C. Ryan Forest History Gallery. The paintings focus on the use of draft horses in northern Minnesota logging in the late 19th – early 20th century. Lyons’ paintings are based on his research of the industry and era so as to be historically accurate. Lyons is an accomplished self-taught artist, with his first showing in 1984 at the Tweed Museum in Duluth. The use of draft horses is a new sub-topic for the gallery, and anyone interested in donating items with a history relating to St. Louis County draft horses may contact the Society’s Collection Manager at (218) 733-7583.  

The J. C. Ryan Gallery hosts an extensive display of artifacts and information about St. Louis County’s logging history. There are three short videos about early lumbering and sawmill operations. Photos, artifacts and information portray the hardships of early logging camp life and the various uses of wood over the decades, as well as the tools used to harvest the timber. On display are many items, from two-man hand saws to vintage gas chainsaws.

The St. Louis County Historical Society museum and office are located in the St. Louis County Heritage and Arts Center (“the Depot” building) at 506 West Michigan Street, across from the Duluth Public Library. There is public parking at 6^th Avenue West and Michigan Street. One entry fee provides admission to building’s four museums. Annual membership holders of any organization housed in the Depot are admitted free. New memberships are available from the Visitor’s Services Desk. Museum days, hours and general information is available at www.duluthdepot.org and by phone at (218) 727- 8025.

Contact/More information:

Executive Director JoAnne Coombe at 218-733-7580 

Navy Reserve Exhibit at the Depot 

Veterans’ Memorial Hall opened the Navy Reserve exhibit, An Unforgotten Legacy, The History of the Duluth Naval Militia & Reserve on September 7, 2007 at the St. Louis County Heritage & Arts Center (the Depot). The exhibit focuses on the history of the Duluth Naval Militia and Reserve from its inception in 1903 to its closure in 2007. It includes an array of stories and events that were important to the men and women who trained or served at our local facility.

This exhibit has been organized by Veterans’ Memorial Hall with the help of the Navy Operations Support Center, Duluth, MN, USS Paducah and YP-61 Club, Northeast Minnesota Historical Center, and Minnesota Historical Society.

Veterans’ Memorial Hall is a joint project of the United States Military Service, veterans of northern Minnesota and the St. Louis County Historical Society.        

Come, help us remember an important chapter of Duluth’s history.

For more information contact:

Daniel Hartman

Email:  dhartman@vets-hall.org

Call:  (218) 733 – 7500 

Go to http://www.thehistorypeople.org/handouts.asp for information about our Traveling Exhibits Program.

For information on our Affiliates' exhibits, go to: http://www.thehistorypeople.org/affiliates.asp.