Meeker County Museum at the G.A.R. Hall

In August 1887, a newspaper correspondent known as Henry from The Advance Sun out of Red Wing, Minnesota, paid a visit to Litchfield and reported to his readers the joys of the western city. “Litchfield is the most beautiful city west of Minneapolis. It contains six elevators, six churches and six hotels...we met a good many old acquaintances and made a good many new ones.” One of the first people Henry met was Litchfield’s Music Man, O.A. Olson, a former resident of the Red

Just over ninety years ago, in May 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt announced the start of the Rural Electrification Administration (REA). Almost immediately, Meeker County residents began organizing what would become the Meeker Cooperative Lights and Power Association, the first such co-op in the state. As you might imagine, there were many details to work through before power could arrive in rural Meeker County. A federal loan of $450,000 was obtained; engineers an

Memorial Day was started by the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) in 1868, just three years after the end of the US Civil War. It was also called Decoration Day because it was a day to decorate the graves of the fallen soldiers. Over time, the day has come honor all of our military service people. Memorial Day, Ripley Cemetery in Litchfield, 1967 For well over one hundred years, Litchfield has continued the Memorial Day tradition. The earliest years saw a parade led by the

Among the collection at the Meeker County Museum is this beautiful wedding dress worn by Martha Louise Fullerton when she married Tipton Fetzer McClure. Martha (Fullerton) McClure's wedding dress on display at the museum. The wedding was on the evening of Thursday, February 12, 1914. The newspapers described it as a “pretty home wedding” with “quiet simplicity.” To the modern reader, this might conjure up images of simple flower arrangements, a handful of family and friends,

For over four decades, a significant portion of the musical landscape of Litchfield was overseen by one man, Ole A Olson, also known as...

What’s in a name? The name of a place can often tell you a great deal about the people, time, and geographical location of an area. The townships of Meeker County are no exception. Meeker County Township map, 1913 Acton Township was named by the Ritchie family who came from Acton, Canada in 1857. Cedar Mills Township’s name comes from Cedar Lake and its many red cedars trees. The lake “was designated on the old map as Ren-ti-tia-wita, the Indian for Red Cedar Island Lake.” Co

“While we are building churches and school-houses, planting town parks and town pumps, let us not forget the Public Library.” Meeker County News, March 25, 1871. It would be over three decades until Litchfield opened its first true public library, but that didn’t mean local residents were without literary options. Some of the original Litchfield Library Association books at the G.A.R. Hall. The first dedicated library space in Litchfield was at Trinity Episcopal Church. The c

In celebration of Women’s History Month, biographies of many of the wives of the G.A.R. members are on display at the G.A.R. Hall. Several of the women were members of the Woman’s Relief Corps (WRC), the women’s auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic. One such woman was Nancy (Ball) Angell. She was the wife of Clark Angell who was a Civil War veteran, G.A.R. member, and photographer. Like her husband, Nancy was an active member of the Litchfield community. Here’s a bit o

If you know some of the local history, the name Albert Van Spence might be familiar to you. But what became of his children?

The practice of having a loved one’s lock of hair has been around for centuries. Sometimes hair was given as a love token.

While looking through a stack of old newspapers at the Museum, we came across the very first issue of The School Mirror, the paper for Litchfield High School, dated December 13, 1893. Original Litchfield High School, c 1890 The paper was to be published twice a month. Orrin Nelson, a senior, was the manager; Allison Brokaw was editor; and Ernest Lofstrom was assistant editor. Twelve issues were scheduled to be printed that school year and subscription was 25 cents, with payme

We all know winters in Minnesota can be rough. Most of us had heard, or perhaps told, stories of past winters with gale-force winds and snowdrifts as high as a house. Here are some glimpses of memorable winters from the past. On March 1, 1856, Dr. Frederick Ripley and John McClelland left their claim near Cedar Lake for Forest City to get supplies. The day started out nice, but a blizzard came upon them quickly. The men took shelter for the night but became lost when they set

The Good Cheer Club's sole purpose was to help those in need.

Floyd Warta was well known in Litchfield, first as a popular teacher and later as Litchfield's Santa!

Displayed in the Museum is a large aerial photograph of Litchfield. The photo looks towards the southwest, with Lake Ripley in the...

In the museum’s collection is a photo of some of the last surviving Civil War veterans in the area.

Let’s look back 75 years and see what was happening in the area for Halloween in 1949. The biggest Halloween event in Litchfield was the annual Jaycee Halloween Party. It promised to top all previous Halloween events. Some of the prize winning costumes, photo from Nov. 3, 1949 Independent Review The party started promptly at 6:15 at the Community Building or present-day Opera House. First up was the handing out of candy, peanuts, and noisemakers. A costumed procession to Cent

Everyone makes mistakes, and the G.A.R. Hall is no different. Over the years, we’ve realized some of the stories shared weren’t always accurate. Here are three examples. Chandelier G.A.R. Hall Chandelier and General Thomas portrait In 1969, a script was written for volunteers to use when giving tours at the G.A.R. Hall. The tour points out the beautiful 16-globe chandelier and says it was brought to the Hall from Louisiana. Over the years, the story grew to say the light fixt

1900 Litchfield High School Football Team Standing: Roy Peterson, L Montfort, G Wright, A Robertson, J Peterson, J Murphy, George Taylor Sitting: D Montfort, P McRaith, E McIntyre, J Knights, A Spence, H Knights, J Courtney, F Foster With the football season underway, it seems like a great time to take a look at the history of Litchfield High School football. In 1897, Litchfield schools hired a new superintendent, Rupert Dewey. Dewey was remembered for maintaining the “highes

When visiting the Meeker County Museum, it’s hard to take in every single artifact. So let’s take a closer look at a few items. Pictured...