EVENTS
Please note: Two or more Board members may be present at events at the museum, but no business will be conducted.
Thanks to Hannah Rintamaki for making this fabulous poster!
We’re celebrating the 50th Year of the Dunn County Historical Society
and the 40th year of the completion of the main museum building.
Two special events to commemorate these anniversaries happened the weekend of July 4th.
On Friday, about 90 people came to an Open House in the morning before the Dunn Center parade and picnic.
Guests enjoyed delicious caramel rolls made by Kyleen Dressler, along with coffee,
and time for visiting and checking out the new displays at the museum.
On Sunday, the 50th Anniversary celebration took place.
Ky’s Catering provided a lunch of pulled beef and pulled pork sandwiches, pasta salads, and chips.
Cake was served, along with the Watkins family’s famous homemade ice cream.
Guests were treated to musical entertainment by Beni Paulson with family and friends following lunch.
The new Dauntless Dunn III book was released and we also had the first reprints of the 1970 Dauntless Dunn I available.
In the main museum a collection of memorabilia of the Early Settlers organization
and the beginnings of the Historical Society was on display,
including photos of the construction of the main museum building 40 years ago.
We also had the recently loaned exhibit on the history of the Dressler Ranch, Marshall, ND,
which is marking it’s 140th year of operation.
A drawing for a set of the collectible “50 Years in the Saddle” books ended the day.
THANKS TO EVRYONE WHO HELPED MAKE THESE DAYS A SUCCESS!
We’ll have these special exhibits on display for the rest of the summer so there’s still time to stop by and view them.
We’re inviting anyone with knowledge of the early history of the Historical Society and the Museum
to please come and share their stories!
**Area communities will be having events over the 4th of July holiday week and the Dunn County Fair is coming up next weekend.**
**Please see the Dunn County Community Calendar for details, https://dunncountynd.gov/county-calendar**
Past 2026 Events
This Spring we've hosted the Killdeer 6th Grade who had an old fashioned school day in the Dorothy Galyen one room schoolhouse, and we had a visit from the Killdeer Kindergarten classes who toured the museum after they completed a study unit on history and wanted to see first hand, "old things"! : ) We appreciate that the school saw the importance of having the students visit. We enjoyed showing them around and answering their thoughtful questions!
A few weeks later we were happy to welcome a great group of local homeschoolers ranging in age from 4 to 12, along with several parents.
They kept busy with the scavenger hunt, some activity sheets and just checking out the exhibits and outbuildings. It was a fun day for all of us!
PAST EVENT
38 people attended the St Pats Sunday event held at the museum on March 22, 2026.
Thanks to Ann Hafner for a very entertaining presentation and for teaching some flat-footed traditional dance steps.
We had one brave young volunteer to join her in performing, kudos to him! Several kids did a scavenger hunt and had fun coloring.
We all enjoyed a variety of traditional Irish refreshments and many other goodies; our thanks to the cooks Tara Dahlen & Vicki Gustafson.
Dunn County Genealogy Club members and others had a chance to view a video on tracing Irish roots
and David Gustafson had handouts available for follow up.
Past Event - October 2025
PAST EVENT ON JUNE 28th, 2025:
An informative talk on Homesteader Women was given by Sue Powers Hartman.
She mentioned many local ladies who persevered in early Dunn County
and also showed us dolls dressed in authentic attire for the early 1900’s.
We enjoyed old fashioned goodies afterwards,
including homemade biscuits with preserves and apple butter.
Thanks, Sue for a very interesting presentation!
PAST EVENT
Sunday April 6th, 2025
Easter Egg Decorating and Spring Crafts for kids & teens.
We had paints, markers & stickers to jazz up wooden, plastic and papier mache eggs, and wood & foam cut outs to decorate.
Seven kids attended; there was amazing creativity! There were marbled eggs, fingerprinted eggs, striped eggs, camo eggs : )
We enjoyed snacks and punch & everyone went home with a bag of chocolate filled eggs.
Past Events 2024
August 17 - The Dakota War of 1862 and Its Aftermath, Including the Battle of Killdeer Mountain
Dan Aichele, summer admin intern for the museum, gave an informative illustrated presentation on the history
of this conflict
and the causes of the local battle that followed in 1864.
This was the final event in the Summer 2024 series that Dan organized.
Details on the Dunn County Historical Society's Annual Meeting Sun. Nov. 3, 2024 are on the Annual Meeting page; see our Home Page for the button.
PAST EVENT
July 7, 2024
HERStory - Women's History of the 1800's - Sue Powers Hartman, Presenter
Did you ever wonder what women’s lives were like 100+ years ago?
What did they wear? Where did they live? What was expected of them?
Using her collection of 28″ dolls, Sue shared women’s history of the era and insights
on their lives and clothing. Each doll was dressed in a handmade historically accurate costume.
Sue re-created varied women’s dresses from throughout the 1800’s after doing careful research.
She answered many questions after her presentation, and then we enjoyed refreshments and a time to visit.
In the photo below, Sue shows a doll dressed in a fish-tail style skirt.
Below, Sue shows an antique dress bodice that a woman would have worn in the late 1800’s.
PAST EVENT
June 19th - The Rise and Fall of the Railroad in Dunn County
Neil Thomas, local railroad history expert,
presented a detailed overview of the Northern Pacific Railroad’s time in Dunn County,
illustrated with a Power Point of photos and drawings.
There were coloring activities for kids.
After the program, hot dogs, chips, fruit punch and desserts were served to attendees.
