Significant Newspaper Photo Negative Collection donated to the Washington County Historical Society

Stillwater, Minn. – The Washington County Historical Society has been given a significant gift of thousands of newspaper photo negatives spanning three decades, by the Cottage Grove-based South Washington County Bulletin newspaper.

The 13 containers, with an estimated 9,000 negatives, were targeted for disposal when staff members recommended that the newspaper donate the materials to WCHS.

“We wanted to make sure the negatives were preserved for years to come. We keep one issue of every newspaper we publish here, but there are lots of photos that are taken that never make it into the newspaper. We wanted to be sure that these photos were also preserved somehow, but it wasn't something we had the expertise to do here,” said Patricia Drey Busse, South Washington County Bulletin managing editor.

“This paper has been around for 50 years. It’s safe to say they contain images of both significant and everyday events in this area. We know the Washington County Historical Society will preserve these resources better than we ever could. We're lucky that we have such a great local organization to entrust with these items,” Busse added.

“We are very grateful that the Bulletin folks are history-minded and thought of us,” said Executive Director Brent Peterson. “This gift is a remarkable addition to an already significant WCHS collection of old photographs and negatives that reflect life in Washington County over the past 150 years.”

The donated negatives date from 1973 to 2003, the era when the southern part of Washington County developed into one of the fastest growing suburbs in Minnesota, evolving from primarily rural to residential development, representing a major growth area of Washington County.

Within the negatives are glimpses of Washington County life over the decades, school activities, public events, sports, and community celebrations. The collection is organized by date that the photos were published in the South Washington County Bulletin.

”This negative collection, combined with the earlier donated collection from the Stillwater Gazette, gives the society a superb newspaper collection that shows the development of Washington County over the past half century – showing changes in the county’s growth and direction as we look ahead to the future,” Peterson added.

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Please visit www.wchsmn.org throughout the year for the latest exciting news about activities commemorating Washington County’s unique place in Minnesota history.

Founded in 1934, the Washington County Historical Society is a donor-supported, nonprofit organization with more than 700 individual, family, and business members. WCHS is supported by individual and foundation gifts, memberships and earned income. For more information, please visit www.wchsmn.org.