Washington County Historical Society

Minnesota Seventh in the Civil War with Eric Linner
2025-11-05 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Eric Linner’s family has a long history of Army veterans, including himself, two brothers, his father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great grandfather. His inspiration to research his great-great-grandfather’s journey with the Minnesota Seventh in the Civil War-West started 50 years ago when his grandmother piqued his interest in family history.
The presentation will give a brief history of his great-grandfather Sergeant James Madison Canfield, with a primary focus on the 10,600 mile journey the Minnesota Seventh traveled starting with the 1862 Dakota War and ending with the Battle of Spanish Fort, AL in 1865.

Click here to watch the program on WCHS’s YouTube page

Discovering Pioneer Ancestors in Washington County with Judith Stern
2025-11-12 19:00 - 20:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Who built the enormous, strong barn at Aamodt’s Apple Farm?
Surprise! It was Judith Stern’s own great, great, great grandfather from Meissenheim, Baden, Germany.
Judith only learned that after moving to Washington County. Like a hungry detective, she wanted to learn more. Her family tree on her maternal side grew to 159 names beginning in 1517 in Germany; and continuing in Minnesota.
Judith Stern will show the audience her research including barns, newspapers, and photos of her ancestors. Artie Schaefer may be the only famous local musician in the Schaefer family, but we all miss the um-pa, um-pa singer who excited the crowds – raising his beer mug, rousing us with the ticky, tacky, ticky tacky, oie, oie oie!
The show has a talk and screen presentation.
In-person attendees:
1862 Greeley Street South
Stillwater, MN 55082
Virtual attendees:
Link to WCHS YouTube page

Townie Tuesday @ Lift Bridge Brewing Company
2025-11-25 17:00 - 21:00 | 1900 Tower Dr. W Stillwater, MN 55082, 1900 Tower Dr. W Stillwater, MN 55082
Join Lift Bridge Brewing Co. on Tuesday from 5:00 to 9:00 PM to enjoy a great Lift Bridge Brew and raise money for the Washington County Historical Society!
$1 from every Tap Beer or Seltzer and $2 from every Crowler, To Go Specialty Bottle or 12 Pack sold during the Event goes directly to WCHS. Buy a beer and make a difference!
In addition to catching up with neighbors and friends over a glass, WCHS will be doing showings of the short film featured in their brewery exhibit at the Heritage Center, produced by Square Lake Productions. The film features four local brew masters including Lift Bridge’s Brad Glynn.
Lift Bridge Brewery created the Townie Tuesday program for our Stillwater Taproom in 2013 to give back to local non-profits, charities & organizations. It’s a fun way to help promote the awesome things in our community while enjoying a tasty beverage!

#SupportLocal #DrinkLocal #MakeADifference #Community #TownieTuesday

Located at Lift Bridge Brewing Company’s Stillwater Taproom
1900 Tower Dr. W
Stillwater, MN 55082

Black Friday Sale at the Heritage Center
2025-11-28 10:00 - 16:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States

The Fallen Washington County Service Members of Vietnam and How We Remember Them with Herb Reckinger
2025-12-17 19:00 - 20:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) opened the Vietnam Memorial on our US Capitol Mall in1982 to honor all veterans of that war. With a PowerPoint presentation we will discover how that same organization makes sure we never forget the men and women of that era.
Join us for a free program to see the images from The Wall of Faces, the story of how The Wall came to be and the traveling wall called The Wall That Heals, a 3-quarter size replica that travels to communities all over our country. Lastly, we will cover the 50-year anniversaries of the endings of the war in 1975.

Barton Johnson is on the left and Mark Steeley is on the right. Barton is from the very northeast part of Washington County- Scandia. Mark is from the very southwest part – Cottage Grove.
Presenter Herb Reckinger is a member of the Washington County Historical Society, on the board for the South Washington Heritage Society, volunteer for The Wall That Heals, and has given several talks at the Heritage Center in the past. Learn more about the Vietnam Traveling Wall at: https://www.travelingwall.us/
In-person attendees:
1862 Greeley Street South
Stillwater, MN 55082
Virtual attendees:
Link to WCHS YouTube page
The Traveling Memorial —

Minnesota Streetcar History with Aaron Isaacs
2026-02-11 19:00 - 20:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Before automobiles, planes, and the Light Rail, there were streetcars in cities across Minnesota. They were pulled by horses until 1889, when electricity became practical. Stillwater had no horsecars because of its steep hills, but in 1889 it opened the first electric streetcar lines in the state, ahead of Minneapolis and St. Paul. A public transit boom ensued.
By World War I, Twin City Rapid Transit company was running over 1100 streetcars on a system that reached from Lake Minnetonka to the St. Croix River, including Stillwater and Bayport. It lasted until buses replaced the last of the streetcars in 1954.
Presenter Aaron Isaacs will speak about Twin Cities streetcar history, then focus on the Stillwater area. Isaacs spent 33 years as a planner and manager for Metro Transit, where he worked in route and schedule planning, operations, maintenance, transit facilities, light rail and traffic advantages for buses. He’s a historian of transit, as a 40+ year volunteer with the Minnesota Streetcar Museum. He’s co-author of Twin Cities by Trolley, The Streetcar Era in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and author of Twin Ports by Trolley on Duluth-Superior.

In-person attendees:
1862 Greeley Street South
Stillwater, MN 55082
Virtual attendees:
Link to WCHS YouTube page

National Toast Day Celebration!
2026-02-26 18:00 - 20:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Just over a century ago, Charles Strite was employed at a local manufacturing plant. Fed up with burned toast in the cafeteria, a great idea “popped” into his head, and the Toastmaster automatic electric toaster was born!
About the event:

Enjoy a program about the history of toast and view our antique toaster collection.
Sample toast and toppings from local bakeries and markets, and vote for your favorite to be named Toast of the Town.
Listen to Warden’s House Site Manager Heidi Heinze tell the history of the automatic pop-up toaster and its origins in Stillwater!

Toast Tasting begins at 6:00pm
Program begins at 6:30pm
Admission is free, but donations are accepted. For more information please contact heidi.heinze@wchsmn.org

2026 Annual Meeting and Dinner
2026-03-19 17:30 - 20:30 | Stillwater Event Center, 1910 Greeley Street South, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Where: Stillwater Event Center, 1910 S. Greeley Street, next to Washington County Heritage Center
When: Thursday March 19, 2026
Itinerary: 5:30pm Social Hour [Cash Bar]
6:30pm Dinner Catered by Scheel’s Catering
7:30pm Annual meeting
Program to follow meeting
Presentation: “THEY DON’T MAKE ‘EM LIKE THAT ANYMORE!”
America’s love affair with the automobile over the decades has been hot, lukewarm, and even cold, but one thing is certain, cars are a part of who we are. WCHS board member and historian George Schire will take you on a highway of historical facts and hilarious anecdotes featuring the cars that have shaped all of our lives. Buckle up your seat belts and mark your calendars for this nostalgic road trip from the Horseless Carriage to present day EVs.
Reservations:
Reservations required in advance
Seating is Limited/Large Attendance Expected
Event open to the Public
Cost: $25 for WCHS members / $30 for nonmembers

Reserve your spot here!

“Lighthouses of the Great Lakes: An Architect’s Sketchbook" with Jim Lammers
2026-03-28 11:00 - 12:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Jim Lammers presents his newest book, “Lighthouses of the Great Lakes: An Architect’s Sketchbook.”
The book contains 500 sketches of beacons all over the Great Lakes area. Lammers takes readers on a road trip, sharing the history and inner workings of the lighthouses as well as the lighthouse establishment itself. Copies of the book will be for sale at the event.
“If you love the Great Lakes and lighthouses, this is the book for you. Lammers is an entertaining guide for this illuminating adventure, combining fascinating history and personal vignettes with wonderful sketches of the noble beacons he encounters along the way. Don’t be surprised if, after reading this book, you want to hop into your car to take your own lighthouse tour.”
—Eric Jay Dolin, author of Brilliant Beacons: The History of the American Lighthouse
Free, but donations are always appreciated. No registration required.
In-person attendees:
1862 Greeley Street South
Stillwater, MN 55082
Virtual attendees:
Link to WCHS YouTube page

"The Tales and Times of Isaac Labissonière" with Mark Labine
2026-04-25 11:00 - 12:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
Author and historian Mark Labine will tell the adventurous story of​ ​Isaac Labissonière, a 19th Century Métis pioneer who ​blazed a trail of firsts in Minnesota.
Isaac traveled with his family via oxcart from the Selkirk Colony to become one of the first settlers of St. Paul in the 1830s. He went on to build the St. Paul Chapel, became one of the first landowners on Lake Como in 1848, and established a community in Osseo. In addition, his military career included the Battle of Kaposia in the U.S. Dakota War.
Copies of Mark Labine’s new book titled, “The Tales and Times of Isaac Labissonière” will be available for purchase at the event.

Free, but donations are always appreciated. No registration required.
In-person attendees:
1862 Greeley Street South
Stillwater, MN 55082
Virtual attendees:
Link to WCHS YouTube page

"WHO'S GOT THE TITLE BELT?" wrestling history with George Schire
2026-04-29 18:00 - 20:00 | Washington County Heritage Center, 1862 South Greeley St, Stillwater, MN, 55082, United States
AWA wrestling fans mark your calendars for April 29, 2026 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm for author/historian George Schire’s next talk and presentation. It will be another Main Event as George share’s stories about the good, the bad, and the ugly character’s that wore wrestling’s greatest prize. In addition, George will include stories of the championship belts they held. Run, don’t walk to attend!
Free, but donations are always appreciated. No registration required.
In-person attendees:
1862 Greeley Street South
Stillwater, MN 55082
Virtual attendees:
Link to WCHS YouTube page
