Meeker County Museum at the G.A.R. Hall

If you know some of the local history, the name Albert Van Spence might be familiar to you. But what became of his children?

The practice of having a loved one’s lock of hair has been around for centuries. Sometimes hair was given as a love token.

While looking through a stack of old newspapers at the Museum, we came across the very first issue of The School Mirror , the paper for...

We all know winters in Minnesota can be rough. Most of us had heard, or perhaps told, stories of past winters with gale-force winds and...

The Good Cheer Club's sole purpose was to help those in need.

Floyd Warta was well known in Litchfield, first as a popular teacher and later as Litchfield's Santa!

Displayed in the Museum is a large aerial photograph of Litchfield. The photo looks towards the southwest, with Lake Ripley in the...

In the museum’s collection is a photo of some of the last surviving Civil War veterans in the area.

Let’s look back 75 years and see what was happening in the area for Halloween in 1949. The biggest Halloween event in Litchfield was the...

Everyone makes mistakes, and the G.A.R. Hall is no different. Over the years, we’ve realized some of the stories shared weren’t always...

With the football season underway, it seems like a great time to take a look at the history of Litchfield High School football. In 1897,...

When visiting the Meeker County Museum, it’s hard to take in every single artifact. So let’s take a closer look at a few items. Pictured...

Earlier this month, the Museum had a booth at the Meeker County Fair. Part of our display was a collection of “what is it?” artifacts....

Throughout Meeker County, there has been a long and varied history of women’s clubs. Most of the clubs started in an era when few women...

They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, and while this post isn’t going to be quite that long, there is a lot we can glean from this...

The thousands of visitors who came to Litchfield for the 1889 G.A.R. Encampment were kept busy with all kinds of activities and events.

In June 1889, Litchfield was the site of the Grand Army of the Republic’s (G.A.R.) Northwestern District Encampment.

A look at the life and career of Dr. Harold Wilmot, Meeker County doctor for over 50 years.

Meeker County has a long history of Memorial Celebrations, dating back to the early days of the G.A.R.

First-time visitors to the Meeker County Museum at the G.A.R. Hall are often surprised by the museum’s size. The front half of the...