Hennepin History Museum

Our mission is to collect, preserve, and share Hennepin County history to educate, enlighten and inspire. To achieve this, we bring the diverse histories of the people in Hennepin County to life and help people understand their world through an exploration of local history through exhibits, collections, public programs, a magazine and a public research library.

Exhibits

"HUMAN TOLL: A Public History of 35W"
HUMAN TOLL: A Public History of 35W explores community resistance and resilience; and illustrates how freeway construction destroyed and divided Black communities across the United States, amplifying the effects of systemic racism that are still felt today. With photographs, maps, oral histories, and archival documents, HUMAN TOLL foregrounds the experiences of Black residents of South Minneapolis by exploring stories about displacement, housing discrimination, neighborhood division, and environmental justice.

HUMAN TOLL was developed through a partnership with the Heritage Studies and Public History program at the University of Minnesota: it was researched and developed over two years by a diverse team of South Minneapolis community members and advisors working in collaboration with student and faculty.

"Separate Not Equal: The Hale Field Pairing"
2021 marked the 50th anniversary of the pairing of Field and Hale elementary schools in South Minneapolis. The topic of school desegregation in the years leading up to the merger polarized the city. Parents of students argued for and against the pairing, which was a cautious initiative to combat school segregation dictated by the racial boundaries established by rampant redlining practices in the Twin Cities.

"Family in Pieces"
Local artist and historian Debra George presents a multi-dimensional exhibit about her family’s history told through heirlooms, genealogical research, and paper collage. Family in Pieces offers guests an innovative approach to the preservation of history. The exhibit is both inspiration and encouragement to others to pursue their family’s story.

"An Introduction to Hennepin County"
This exhibit serves as a foundation from which guests can learn about Hennepin County and then explore the Museum’s other rotating exhibitions with a better understanding of the people, institutions, and events that have shaped this region. The exhibit consists of six main panels, covering topics from the County’s pre-settlement home to the Dakota, to the establishment of the County in 1852, the rise of local industry, and the diverse immigrant populations that moved here.

Participation in Museum Day is open to any tax-exempt or governmental museum or cultural venue on a voluntary basis. Smithsonian magazine encourages museum visitation, but is not responsible for and does not endorse the content of the participating museums and cultural venues, and does not subsidize museums that participate.