Nicollet County Historical Society

05/28/2026

One hundred seventy-five years ago, Dakota leaders signed a treaty that changed everything for the place you now call home. Sign up for a guided exhibit tour to explore that history and the legacy that still shapes southern Minnesota today.

For dates and RSVP: https://www.nchsmn.org/series/treaty-of-traverse-des-sioux-exhibit-tours

05/28/2026

05/26/2026

Postcards are some of our favorite records in MDL because they contain both visual and textual clues about the past. Real photo postcards, like this one of Company K in St. Peter, capture the look of specific locations in time, just like historical photographs. Many are labeled or captioned, which many old photographs do not have, so they are even more identifiable.

Some postcards also include written information including names, addresses, and personal messages. They provide details about a person’s locations, movements, and relationships. Finally, many postcards also include postmarks from the post office with dates, times, and locations. This helps us more accurately date a vintage postcard, even though a person may wait years to mail a postcard after they acquired it.

Plus, we are now transcribing words on postcards in MDL, which you can access by clicking on the blue transcript buttons under our item viewers. What can you discover?

Image: Company K across Minnesota Avenue, St. Peter, 1908. Nicollet County Historical Society, https://collection.mndigital.org/catalog/nico:1299

05/23/2026

If you're looking for something to do today, we're open until 4:00 pm.

05/22/2026

Today is National Poppy Day. Worn since World War I, the red poppy symbolizes remembrance, honoring those who served and died in all wars and recognizing the ongoing sacrifices of veterans, active-duty service members, and their families.

After the war, red poppies were among the first plants to grow on the disturbed battlefields of France and Belgium. Scientists traced this to the lime-rich soil left behind by rubble and shellfire. For many, though, the flowers came to mean something more. Their vivid color and unexpected return made them a symbol of both the bloodshed of war and the resilience of those who lived through it.

This connection was captured in the 1915 poem “In Flanders Fields,” written by Canadian physician Lt. Col. John McCrae while serving on the front lines. His words helped turn the red poppy into a lasting sign of remembrance.

Today, wearing a poppy is a simple act filled with meaning. It reflects on the past and honors those who continue to serve.

Learn more about Poppy Day’s history:
https://www.legion.org/poppyday/history

📷: St. Peter women who participated in the first poppy sale to benefit veterans.
Top row, left to right: Mary O'Brien, Marie Ritt, Mona Anderson, Anna Mae Mason, Helen Loomis, Florence Larson, Mildred Peterson, Maurine Ludcke, Haldys Halvorsett (spelling taken from the 1920 census), Bernice Bengtson.
Middle row, left to right: unknown, Viola Knoll, Anastasia O'Brien, Frances Pettijohn, Claudia Reynolds, Isabel Daniels, Ruth Gresham, Irene Haughdahl, Georgia Mason.
Bottom row, left to right: unknown, Ruth Wilkinson, Geraldine Baker, Alice Jackson, an unknown teacher, unknown, an unknown teacher, Esther Adolphson, Grace Olson Gresham.

05/20/2026

Historic buildings don’t preserve themselves. Neither do cemeteries, bridges, or even place names.

They’re protected, restored, and researched by local groups, often volunteers, who make sure our community doesn’t lose its memory.

In Nicollet County, that includes the Heritage Preservation Commission in St. Peter, cemetery boards in rural townships, groups like Friends of District 6, and our team at the Nicollet County Historical Society.

Preservation Month reminds us: history disappears when no one speaks for it.
You can support preservation by:
- Visiting historic sites
- Supporting your local historical society
- Asking your city or county about preservation policies
- Documenting family history
- Speaking up when something important is at risk

Photo of the preserved District 6 Schoolhouse in rural Nicollet County.

05/19/2026

Today is the last day to RSVP for this unique estate planning seminar at the History Center tomorrow.

Learn how to create an estate plan that protects your family’s treasures ensuring they are properly preserved and that your executor understands their value and your intentions.

What you’ll learn:

- Best legal practices for donating historical documents, photos, family heirlooms, or artifacts so they remain within the community
- How to ensure generational property is transitioned thoughtfully and what to consider before donating
- The tax-saving benefits of naming a nonprofit as a beneficiary
- How to include the Nicollet County Historical Society or another nonprofit in your will or trust without affecting your current lifestyle

RSVP at the link:

Learn how estate planning and historical preservation work together at this free NCHS seminar with attorney Jared Koch.

05/19/2026

Check out our upcoming events.
https://mailchi.mp/c741535dedd7/upcoming-events-at-nchs

05/17/2026

On May 17, 1974, Camilla Hall was killed in a shootout between members of the Symbionese Liberation Army and the Los Angeles police.

Camilla’s story began here in St. Peter. Born in 1945, she was the daughter of George and Lorena Hall, both of whom were connected to Gustavus Adolphus College. She later became an artist and moved to California, where her life became entangled with the SLA, one of the most notorious militant groups of the 1970s.

Her story is difficult, tragic, and deeply human. It connects St. Peter to a larger national history of grief, radicalization, violence, and unanswered questions.

If you'd like to learn more about Camilla, Rachael Hanel explores her life in "Not the Camilla We Knew: One Woman’s Path from Small-town America to the Symbionese Liberation Army," available for purchase at the Treaty Site History Center museum store.

05/16/2026

It's still Preservation Month, so let's learn about another saved place. The Center Building (Old Main) at St. Peter Treatment Center is an architectural beauty and was listed in 1986.

Situated on the brow of a hill overlooking the Minnesota River Valley, the Center Building dominates the campus of the St. Peter Treatment Center. Established by a Minnesota State Legislature act in 1866, the construction of the St. Peter State Hospital began. Designed by the nationally known architect Samuel Sloan, it embodies the hospital design theories of Dr. Thomas Kirkbride, a pioneer in the treatment of mental illness who also served as a consultant on the design of this building. It is the earliest surviving representative of a long line of monumental buildings commissioned by the state for its social institutions. The cornerstone of this complex, the Center Building, was completed and occupied in 1869.

The Center Building is a four-story, gable-roofed, rectangular structure in the Classical Revival style. Meant to pay tribute to Greek and Roman architecture, the building presents a non-pretentious classical style. The load-bearing walls are constructed of locally quarried limestone and hewn in a semi-rough texture. Prominently displayed is a column-supported portico roof that covers the steps leading to the original second-story entrance.
St. Peter State Hospital Museum