Legacy Amendment Supports $286,714 in Small Grants to History Organizations Throughout Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (April 1, 2025) – The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is pleased to announce the newest recipients of 30 Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Small Grants ($10,000 and less), totaling $286,714 in 18 counties.

Small grants are awarded quarterly to help nonprofits, educational organizations, government units, and federally recognized Tribes to preserve and share Minnesota history. This cycle of awards was approved by the MNHS Executive Council on December 12, 2024.

Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants are made possible by the Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on Nov. 4, 2008. The Legacy Amendment supports efforts to preserve Minnesota land, water, and legacy, including Minnesota history and cultural heritage.

Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Small Grant Recipients
Recipients of small grants ($10,000 and less) from the fiscal year 2025 October small grants cycle are listed in alphabetical order below. Each project will preserve and enhance Minnesota’s cultural and historical resources. All grants are competitive and awarded according to program guidelines and criteria, as well as professional standards.

Anoka County Historical Society, Anoka, $10,000
To document in 10 oral history interviews the history of Minnesotans related to or employers of Vietnam veterans.

Brown County Historical Society, New Ulm, $9,731
To provide better organization of the museum collections, allowing for greater public access to the community’s historic resources.

Cannon Falls Area Historical Society, Cannon Falls, $10,000
To hire qualified professionals to publish a book on the history of the Mineral Springs Sanatorium near Cannon Falls, MN.

Cannon Valley Trail, Cannon Falls, $10,000
To hire a qualified consultant to research the history of the Cannon Valley Trail in preparation for a future book.

Center for Policy Design, St. Paul, $10,000 
To hire a qualified historian to research and write the final chapters for a book on the history of Minneapolis resident John F. Thomas.

Church of St. Wenceslaus, New Prague, $8,682
To hire a qualified historian to complete the nomination to the National Register of Historic Places for the St. Wenceslaus Cemetery Chapel, New Prague, MN.

City of Champlin, Champlin, $10,000
To hire a qualified architect to conduct a conditions assessment of the District 99 School (Dunning School) in Hennepin County, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

City of Clinton, Clinton, $10,000
To hire a qualified architect to conduct a conditions assessment of the circa 1885 Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Depot, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

City of Cottage Grove, Cottage Grove, $5,546
To produce and install historical markers at 7 significant historical sites around the City of Cottage Grove.

City of Hokah, Hokah, $3,891
To design, produce, and install a historical marker about the turbine, flume, and mills in the City of Hokah.

City of Rochester (Community Development), Rochester, $9,998
To hire a qualified architect to conduct a conditions assessment of the historic stone wall on the former Toogood Farm property, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, St. Paul, $9,840
To develop programs centered around the 100th anniversary of St. Paul native F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.

Grong Lutheran Church, Hawley, $10,000
To hire a qualified historian to complete the nomination to the National Register of Historic Places for Grong Lutheran Church in Hawley, MN.

Hanover Historical Society, Hanover, $9,887
To hire a qualified archaeologist to conduct a survey of the 1850s Hanover Dam and Sawmill ruins.

Hennepin History Museum, Minneapolis, $9,966
To provide better organization of the museum's textile collections, allowing for greater public access to the community’s historic resources.

Highland Heritage Project, St. Paul, $10,000
To hire qualified professionals to produce a documentary on the history of Jewish and Christian inhabitants of the Highland Park neighborhood in St. Paul, MN.

Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County, Moorhead, $10,000
To digitize a collection of archival recordings of an early Moorhead family, allowing for greater public access to these historic resources.

Jordan Area Historical Society, Jordan, $10,000 
To improve collections care and management through proper storage.

Meeker County Historical Society, Litchfield, $9,947
To add 110 rolls of microfilmed Meeker County newspapers to MCHS's holdings to make primary records more accessible to the public.

Minnesota Special Education Leaders Foundation (MNSELF), Lake Elmo, $9,954
To hire qualified professionals to publish a book on the early history of educating Minnesota children with disabilities.

Northern Bedrock Historic Preservation Corps, Duluth, $10,000
To hire a qualified historian to complete an evaluation to determine eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places for the Morgan Park Warehouse, Duluth, MN.

Pine County Historical Society, Askov, $9,966
To provide better organization of the museum collections, allowing for greater public access to the community’s historic resources.

Portal Research, Minneapolis, $9,965
To document in 10 oral history interviews the history of the nursing profession in Minnesota and reasons for its recent decline.

Preston Historical Society, Preston, $10,000
To hire a qualified consultant to write an interpretive plan for the Preston Historical Society.

Rice County Historical Society, Faribault, $9,924
To improve collections care and management through an updated collections management system.

Scandia Heritage Alliance, Scandia, $10,000
To hire a qualified consultant to write an interpretive plan for a planned heritage center in Scandia, MN.

Streets MN, Minneapolis, $9,600
To hire a qualified historian to research and write the history of historic communities in Minnesota that were disrupted by highway development.

The Park Place, Minneapolis, $10,000
To document in ten oral history interviews the history of Mexican migration to Minnesota.

White Bear Lake Area Historical Society, White Bear Lake, $9,823
To digitize a collection of audio tapes to digital, allowing for greater public access to this historic resource.

White Bear Lake Area Historical Society, White Bear Lake, $9,994
To hire a qualified consultant to research the historic White Bear Town Hall in preparation for a future exhibit.

About Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants
The Minnesota Historical Society received a legislative appropriation of $36.981 million for the 2024-2025 biennium, including funding for the Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage (Legacy) Grants: $8,677,000 for FY2024 and $7,035,000 for FY2025.

Grants are available for history and historic preservation projects in two funding tiers. Small grants of $10,000 or less are awarded quarterly. The next small grant application deadlines are January 10, 2025 and April 11, 2025. Large grants of more than $10,000 are offered once a year. All grants are administered through a competitive process using professional standards and criteria.

For more information on the Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants program, including application deadlines, visit www.mnhs.org/preservation/legacy-grants. Applications are accepted only through the MNHS grants portal.

About the Minnesota Historical Society
The Minnesota Historical Society is a non-profit educational and cultural institution established in 1849. MNHS collects, preserves, and tells the story of Minnesota’s past through museum exhibits, libraries, and collections, historic sites, educational programs, and book publishing. Using the power of history to transform lives, MNHS preserves our past, shares our state’s stories, and connects people with history.