Minnesota Historical Society
The Minnesota Historical Society is a private, nonprofit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the state of Minnesota . Founded in 1849, it now has the largest archives, collections and libraries on Minnesota's history.
The organization was founded in 1849 - nine years before the state was founded - by around 100 citizens, including Alexander Ramsey , and has set itself the goal of preserving historical objects and documents of the past and present and of passing on knowledge to future generations. Today it has several museums and numerous historical sights. The Historical Society's collections include 500,000 books, 37,000 maps, 250,000 photographs, 5,500 drawings, prints and paintings, 165,000 historical artifacts , 800,000 archaeological items, and numerous papers and documents. Since 1992, most of these items have been exhibited in the $ 76.4 million newly built History Center in St. Paul .
The Minnesota Historical Society currently has approximately 16,000 members.