No Admission Fees- Donations Appreciated and Sustain our Efforts

 

Call for Information and Tours:

715-485-9269.  Thank you for visiting our website.
e-mail: polkcountymuseum@lakeland.ws

 

Built in 1899, the Polk County Museum was the Polk County Courthouse until 1975. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and is an absolute treasure. You'll find three floors of galleries just bursting with items; some dating back as far as the Revolutionary War! Most of what you'll encounter is from the early 1900's.          

Visit our exhibit; 9,000 year old Bison  Bones' Back-ground on this phenomenal exhibit; in 1934 a farmer in the St. Croix River Valley (between Minnesota and Wisconsin) presented the University of Minnesota with several large animal bones.  The bones were discovered by accident at a marl dredging pit, east of Dresser in Nye, dated to the late Pleistocene. The Society was part of a team that helped bring the 'Bones' back to Polk County.

 

Immerse yourself in the history of the Polk County people during the Logging Era with a visit to the newly redesigned Logging Room.  Explore the impact  of the Logging industry in the St. Croix River Valley.

Come visit us soon and lose yourself in the rich heritage of this area.  There is an exhibit to fit almost any interest. Thanks to everyone for your continuing support, helping to contribute towards our goals!    Preview some of our Exhibits under the About tab.

2017 Museum Season

The Museum is excited to be hosting The Traveling Exhibit;

 

‘The Nostalgia Awakens: A Vintage Star Wars Toys Display’

 

On loan for the 2017 Museum Season(June through August).

 

Thursday evening, June 8th,Opening Night,Curator and owner, Jarrod Roll, discussed the cultural significance of the Star Wars universe and its vast impact on childhoods, storytelling, and popular culture. Mr. Jarrod Roll discussed his collection and explained how it evolved.  Follow our webpage and facebook for dates and more information.

                                                                    

Friday May 12, 2017 the Amery fourth graders toured the Polk County Museum in Balsam Lake, 
students were treated to an exciting program by Chief Dan Mosay of the St. Croix Band
of Lake Superior Chippewa.  Chief Mosay  presented a program on Anishinabe history, traditions and culture. 

 

2017 POLK COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY SCHOLARSHIP WINNING ESSAY
                         Jack Michael Swenson, Turtle Lake High School

The Polk County Museum is important to the Polk County community because the museum allows visitors to
connect with our past and understand where we came from and how our ancestors lived.  The exhibits at the 
Polk County Museum give us a greater appreciation for those who settled
our area by allowing us to learn about the many struggles 
endured by those immigrants.  A visit to the Polk County Museum is important because it can help spark
conversations and understanding between generations of family and community members.
After a visit to the museum with my grandmother, Pricilla Fjorden, she shared stories of our family history.  
She told me the story of how our ancestors came to America on a boat from Norway, settled in Polk County, 
and become farmers who lived off the land.  Seeing the rudimentary tools in the farming exhibit
at the Polk County Museum, and discussing them with my grandmother,
gave me an appreciation for how hard my ancestors worked clearing and farming a small piece of land.  
All of the exhibits at the museum were of interest to me as they helped me see how much technology has simplified
every aspect of our lives, from school to farming.  So much has changed in a relatively short time, and I am very lucky
because my family has a great appreciation for our family history. 
We have many photos and an expansive written record of our history in Polk County. 
My great-aunt Sara DeLuca has published two books about our family history.  My visit to the Polk County Museum 
really helped bring the stories I’ve heard and read, come to life.
A visit to the Polk County Museum can help residents and tourists alike understand 
our local history.  The conversations sparked by a visit to the museum can enlighten and 
connect generations of diverse groups of people, and those communications alone make the 
Polk County Museum an invaluable asset to the Polk County community.

Thanks to everyone who visited the museum for our first Spring Art Fair.

Thursday, June 1, 7pm Author James Sudmeier will present,his book
"The General and the Giant German Railway Gun: Patton's Brush with Death from 33 miles."
This will describe a search by my wife Jilly and I last year in Nancy, France
for Patton's lost headquarters where he lived for 9 weeks in late
1944.   Nobody, including the current occupants of the building,had any idea that they were in Patton's former residence.

July 1  and July 2,  Join us at the Polk County Museum to celebrate Balsam Lake Freedom Fest July 4th weekend, enjoy a rootbeer float while relaxing on the spacious lawn, watch the parade and car show.

   PIONEER SCHOOLING AT LANESDALE SCHOOL IN BALSAM Lake

The Polk County Historical Society is excited to be offering two, three day sessions of Pioneer Schooling to be held at the restored, Polk County Lanesdale Rural School in Balsam Lake.  First session, August 8,9,10.  The second session, August 15, 16, 17.  Time; 10 am to 2 pm. The fee for each three day session is $ 35.00 per child.

To make this unique program successful, we are suggesting the children, ages 6-14. Students are asked to dress as children did in the 1900’s; costume’s available at school.

Questions can be directed to Vera 715-485-9269 or polkcountymuseum@lakeland.ws

The Polk County Historical Society Appreciates our Sponsors

FRED C. AND KATHERINE B. ANDERSEN FOUNDATION

                       Hardenbergh Foundation

                       HUGH J. ANDERSEN FOUNDATION

  St. Croix Casino Turtle Lake

  Polk-Burnett Electric Cooperative- Operation Round-Up