Spring is the traditional time for house cleaning and it is time for the museum to think Spring! “I look at items that I have kept over the years and scratch my head wondering why I still hold onto things” is a common statement that has been heard throughout the generations. The reasons are many; […]
Thank you for your interest in a membership to the Murray County Historical Museum. We invite you to explore our permanent collection and take part in upcoming, programs, events and exhibitions. As a member, you will have an opportunity to see them first! You can also use our new library and archives area to research […]
STUDY SUMMARY The Murray County Historical Society retained LHB to provide a Historic Structure Report for the Dinehart-Holt House in Slayton, Minnesota. The intent of this summary is to provide an overview of the report, which documents the historical background of the house, provides a thorough evaluation of its existing conditions, and makes recommendations for […]
Chandler-Lake Wilson Tornado (1992) On June 16, 1992, an F5 tornado devastated the towns of Chandler and Lake Wilson in Murray County. It was the most powerful tornado recorded in the US that year and the eighth F5 to touch down in Minnesota, reaching wind speeds in excess of 260 miles per hour and causing over […]
Murray County Murray County was established in 1857 and formally organized in 1872. Although Currie was the original county seat, the city of Slayton won a contentious battle for that title in 1890. Agricultural production has been (and continues to be in the twenty-first century) the county’s primary industry. Click the Download Now button to […]
Minnesota’s First Female Sheriff Anna Sheerin Lowe became Minnesota’s first female sheriff when the Murray County Commissioners appointed her to fill her husband’s unexpired term in 1923. Faced with the difficulty of enforcing Prohibition laws, Lowe fulfilled her duties as sheriff and won the respect and gratitude of the community for her three years of service. […]
The first Murray County Fair was held in 1880. From 1884 through 1898 there were rival fairs, one in Currie and one in Slayton. Each claimed to be the official county fair, but both were discontinued at the turn of the century. In 1912 the Murray County Fair returned and has been held annually (with two exceptions) […]
Murray County will soon be represented on the MNopedia website, a site dedicated to discovering and disseminating the history of our great state. Similar to Wikipedia, the site is considered a resource for reliable information about significant things, places, events, and people from our past. Each topic has a short essay included. There will be […]
Last spring Paul Moran, of St. Joseph, MN, made a significant donation to the museum with his great-grandfather’s 1860’s Wesson rifle. The museum had a photo of Paul’s ancestor, John Moran, in a stylish fur coat, purported to be a buffalo coat. The rifle was made by the Frank Wesson Company and was patented in […]
The museum has installed a new Scan Pro 2000 microfilm reader, scanner, and printer in the research area. Thanks go to an Arts and Cultural Heritage Grant provided by the Minnesota Historical Society with funds provided from the 2008 Legacy Amendment voted on by the citizens of Minnesota. This new microfilm reader works in a […]
