Admissions:
Members: Free, Adults: $5.00, Children: $2.00, Under 5: Free
Description:
The Stearns History Museum and Research Center (SHMRC) is located in St. Cloud, MN and is dedicated to preserving and promoting local history. Our mission is to cultivate in people an awareness and appreciation of local history that enhances quality of life. Accredited by American Association of Museums in March of 1990, SHMRC became the first history museum to receive this recognition in Minnesota. Permanant exhibits include a life size replica of a granite quarry, a Children's Gallery where kids can play and learn with hands-on activities, a theater where you can watch four different movies that highlight a feature of Stearns County's history, and a Natural History exhibit with a bubbling brook running though it. We also have a Pan Car on display, one of only 7 left in existence today that were made around 1918 at the Pan Motor Company in St. Cloud. These are only some of the interesting and exciting exhibits visitors can explore here!
The SHMRC also has an extensive Research Center/Archives with many resources available to the public. Some of the records that are available here include birth certificates (1870-1933), death certificates (1870-1990), census records (1857-1930), a marriage index (1855-1900) and marriage licenses (1916-1976), St. Cloud city directories (1889-2008), plat books (1880-2005), newspapers (from all over the county that date back to the 1850's), etc. The SHMRC also has many photography collections numbering over 500,000 images! Other important items include an oral history collection with 1700+ oral histories, biographical files that are constantly being updated, and many genealogical references. Come to research your ancestors, a Stearns County business, or to learn about the history of your house.