Carver County Historical Society

Carver County Historical Society Our mission is to collect, preserve, and interpret the history of Carver County. The Carver County Historical Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit founded by O.D.

Sell of Mayer in 1940. The collection was originally housed in various public spaces in Mayer and Waconia, until the current museum was built in 1960. The museum was expanded in 1997 to better serve a growing population. In 2015, the museum inherited the Historic Andrew Peterson Farmstead on Hwy. 5 just outside town.

For this year’s  , we share this beauty of a bicycle. This is a child sized ordinary bicycle, the precursor to today’s s...
06/03/2026

For this year’s , we share this beauty of a bicycle. This is a child sized ordinary bicycle, the precursor to today’s safety bicycle design. We often see the adult-sized ordinary bikes with their massive front wheel, but this child-sized one is arguably more interesting! It was used by the Martin Luebke Sr. children.

05/29/2026

An update on Old St Hubert Church!

Interested in more from Chaska History Center? Check out their Graveside Tales, set for June 27th this year!
05/28/2026

Interested in more from Chaska History Center? Check out their Graveside Tales, set for June 27th this year!

Looking for something different to do this summer? Join the Chaska Historical Society for Graveside Tales, an unforgettable outdoor experience featuring live historical re-enactments at the Moravian Cemetery. Two performances on Saturday, June 27. Each lasts approximately 90 minutes. Registration is limited—sign up today through the Chaska Historical Society website. See link in the comments.

Private First Class Florian R. Steinberger was born on January 3, 1925, in Chaska to Joseph and Rosella Steinberger. He ...
05/25/2026

Private First Class Florian R. Steinberger was born on January 3, 1925, in Chaska to Joseph and Rosella Steinberger. He was inducted into the United States Army on May 5, 1943, at age 18. Florian received training at the Infantry Replacement Training Center at Camp Wolters, Texas and then served with Company K, 169th Infantry Regiment, 43rd Infantry Division. He and the 43rd Infantry Division deployed in December of 1943, sailing to Johnson Atoll in the Pacific, New Caledonia, and then to New Guinea. The division was then deployed to retake the Philippines in early January 1945.

Florian Steinberger was killed in action on January 20, 1945, at the Battle of Luzon. Letters to the family reported that while participating in an attack on the enemy position, Steinberger was struck by shrapnel and killed instantly. He was buried at a United States Armed Forces cemetery near Santa Barbara, Luzon. In 1949, he was reburied at Guardian Angels Catholic Cemetery in Chaska.

Please take a moment today to remember Florian R. Steinberger and all others who have died in service to our country.

Though the craft distillery scene across the county and the country continues to change, let’s do a throwback this  . On...
05/22/2026

Though the craft distillery scene across the county and the country continues to change, let’s do a throwback this . On April 17, 2014, the Waconia Patriot published the following article announcing the then brand-new J. Carver Distillery.

05/22/2026

People always ask us how to reach Coney Island after we have a program about it's history - Carver Parks has an answer for anyone free on May 30th!

Our gift shop is undergoing some changes! Some local authors reached out to us after our message went out and now we hav...
05/19/2026

Our gift shop is undergoing some changes! Some local authors reached out to us after our message went out and now we have an entire side dedicated to Carver County authors! We have a selection of adult books and kids books, so come on in to take a look. We're still interested in hearing from other local authors, so don't be shy!

In addition, we've added a dedicated shelf to the second hand books that arrive to us every now and then. This includes books we currently sell, but have a discount for being used, and out of print books like the Mayer Centennial! While we can't guarantee this stock, we hope this will help unite people with the local history books they've been trying to track down!

Address

555 W 1st Street
Waconia, MN
55387

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 9am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 9am - 4:30pm
Thursday 9am - 4:30pm
Friday 9am - 4:30pm
Saturday 9am - 2pm

Telephone

(952) 442-4234

Alerts

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