EVENTS
Please note: Two or more Board members may be present at events at the museum, but no business will be conducted.
We’re celebrating the 50th Year of the Dunn County Historical Society
and the 40th year of the completion of the main museum building.
We’re planning two special events to commemorate these anniversaries.
Please save the dates! More details to come! Everyone welcome!
July 3, 2026 10AM to 12 Noon: Open House at the Museum,
with Kyleen Dressler’s delicious Caramel Rolls, and the coffee pot will be on!
Visit the museum in the morning then see the Dunn Center parade and attend the community picnic in the afternoon.
July 5, 2026 1 to 5 PM: 50th / 40th Anniversary Celebration:
Meal (details TBA), cake & the Watkins family’s famous homemade ice cream.
We’ll have special exhibits and a show of photos featuring the beginnings of the Historical Society and Museum.
We’re inviting anyone with knowledge of these events to please come and share their stories.
Book release of the third volume of Dunn County history, “Dauntless Dunn III”.
**Area communities will be having events over the 4th of July holiday week
in conjunction with the 250th Birthday of America.**
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!
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.
