Minnesota Historical Society awards $349,104 in small Legacy grants to 21 history projects
The grants, announced Oct. 23, pay for oral histories, archives, museum collections and studies of historic buildings in 11 counties. Recipients include Global Minnesota, the Trust for Public Land and seven cities, and none received more than $20,000.
St. Paul. The Minnesota Historical Society has awarded 21 small grants totaling $349,104 to history projects in 11 Minnesota counties, the society announced on Oct. 23. The money pays for oral history interviews, archives, museum collections and studies of historic buildings.
The awards are Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants, also known as Legacy Grants. They are paid from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, which Minnesota voters created when they approved the Legacy Amendment on Nov. 4, 2008, and which draws on sales tax revenue, according to the society's program page. The society's Executive Council approved this round, the July cycle of fiscal 2027, on Sept. 10.
Who received grants
Small grants go to nonprofits, educational organizations, units of government and federally recognized tribes, and none is larger than $20,000. By the Herald's count of the society's list, seven of this round's recipients are cities, two are a college and a university, and the other 12 are nonprofit and religious organizations. Seven grants reached the $20,000 limit. The smallest, $6,000, went to the Jackson County Historical Society in Lakefield to organize its museum collections.
Four grants pay for oral history interviews. Caponi Art Park in Eagan received $19,065 to record up to 22 interviews on the park's history, and Face to Face Health & Counseling Service in St. Paul received $16,589 for 10 interviews on its own. The Trust for Public Land received $17,750 for 15 interviews about Central Village Park in St. Paul, a neighborhood developed after Interstate 94 was built through the Rondo neighborhood. St. Olaf College in Northfield received $19,934 for nine interviews on the 1967 and 1968 restoration of the 1918 St. Peter and St. Paul Orthodox Church.
Global Minnesota in Minneapolis received $20,000 to publish a book on the 75th anniversary of its founding, and the Washington County Historical Society in Stillwater received $20,000 for a consultant to write an exhibit plan on the history of Stillwater High School. The La Crescent Area Historical Society received $13,600 to organize its museum collections.
Four of the city grants concern historic buildings and places: a new furnace for the 1936 Hackensack Conservation Building, a conditions assessment of the Excelsior Public School, built from 1899 to 1901, and studies of whether the 1903 Porter Jail and the 1935 Buffalo Lake Scenic Overlook qualify for the National Register of Historic Places.
What comes next
Small grants are awarded four times a year. Applications for the October round closed on Oct. 9, according to the program page, and the next deadlines are Jan. 8 and April 9, 2027. Large grants, of more than $20,000, are offered once a year. Applications are accepted only through the society's online grants portal, and every award is competitive.
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