Carlton County Historical Society

Carlton County Historical Society is dedicated to preserving the unique history of Carlton County.  We not only collect artifacts and remember important events, but we also gather the countless individual stories left behind by our ancestors and neighbors.  We are proud to serve Carlton County in the collection, preservation, and dissemination of the history of Carlton County.

The Carlton County Historical Society is located in the historic Shaw Memorial Library building in Cloquet, MN, built in 1919 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, making it a perfect setting for the Historical Society's exhibits, museum shop, research library and archives. The basement level serves as storage for the museum's collections.  

We continue to provide free admission to the museum, student education programs and community outreach events.  We regularly add new exhibits to our museum and also upgrade and maintain permanent exhibits.

We recently implemented new web-based catalog software which will enable us to host virtual exhibits and provide online access to our catalog. However our old slow computers need replacement, and we must borrow the media scanner from the Minnesota Historical Society, which slows the process to a crawl.  With new equipment such as two new computers and a scanner, we can get our collection online faster, allowing anyone to view Carlton County's rich history from home.

Through grants, memberships, museum store sales, admission and research fees, as well as donations from friends and businesses, we are able to carry out our mission of finding multiple voices and paths that connect our past, present and future.  Through your donation we can accomplish significant new initiatives and programs that benefit our community.