Washington County Heritage Center

L.C. Simon releases his new book “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” a fictional piece based on true events from his decades in law enforcement working on behalf of children. Hosted in partnership with Valley Bookseller, who will have Simon's book available for purchase at the event.   Free! Attend in-person OR on Zoom (see Zoom link […]

Learn about the “ten agents of deterioration” and how to preserve and protect the things you value. There will be a presentation followed by an open question and answer period. Recommendations for how to find additional resources will be provided at the event. About the presenter:  Megan Narvey is the Outreach Conservator at the Minnesota […]

Come celebrate the holiday season, Swedish style! This festive day will include making these three very simple paper craft tree ornaments, drinking hot chocolate, munching on Christmas cookies, and enjoying Gammelgården's brand new Swedish Christmas exhibit in Community Corner.   The event is free and no registration is required. All ages are welcome! All craft […]

Charles Lockwood A bittersweet tradition that stemmed from the Civil War was an organization called The Last Man's Club. Civil War reenactor and longtime WCHS volunteer Mike Frain will present on this club that began as a group of friends and became legendary. The men of Company B of the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment […]

  WCHS Executive Director Brent Peterson will be presenting stories about Black pioneers in the St. Croix Valley and the early trails that they blazed in a multitude of social and entrepreneurial arenas. Among these stories is a man named Charles Jackson, a newly freed slave turned businessman who followed the Minnesota Regiment to Stillwater […]

Art by Ariel Rucker-Ehlers via the LA Times   Hair.   A natural part of who we are, how we present in the world, and the understanding of why it is so personal to individuals and racial groups around the world.   Hair, especially for Black, African, and African-American women, has traditionally been subject to […]

Who run the world? Girls!   Women have been gathering together since the beginning of time to promote learning, personal growth, civic duty and volunteerism. Come learn about and celebrate historical and current women's groups in the Stillwater area that truly make the world go 'round.   Presenters include the Women's Reading Club, Women's Business […]

Black & White Movie Night is back! This time we present three classic short subjects: two featuring Mabel Normand, the Queen of Silent Film Comedy, and one in which Buster Keaton plays dozens of characters. Charlie Chaplin and Fatty Arbuckle also make appearances. Be prepared to spend an hour laughing! Actress Mabel Normand from Ziegfeld. […]

WHO WAS THAT MASKED MAN?  On April 2, 2024 at 6:30pm wrestling historian and author George Schire returns to the Washington County Heritage Center to share the identities and stories of wrestling's mystery men.   In the old territory days of professional wrestling, there was a highly populated city called, "Parts Unknown".  It couldn't be found on […]

    This event is a celebration of the new exhibit designed by Gammelgården Museum of Scandia at the Heritage Center, all about handwork and winter crafts. This exhibit won't be here forever, so see it while it lasts!

Orphan Train in Minnesota The hidden story of the orphan train movement in Minnesota will be explained from its beginnings to its climax. Approximately 5,000-6,000 children were sent to Minnesota via the orphan trains, nearly half of whom arrived between1882 and 1892. Become acquainted with the personalities, both locally and nationally, who initiated the largest […]

Lovness Estate in Grant, Minnesota  Local resident Lonnie Lovness will present the story of her parents Don and Virginia Lovness, who built two Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homes by hand just west of Stillwater.  At the age of four she carried small rocks in a bucket to help as her parents labored long hours, and when […]