Carlton County Historical Society

Carlton County Historical Society

We Learn To Remember

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, provide student education programs and community outreach events.  We have new exhibits added to our museum regularly and we also upgrade and maintain permanent exhibits.

We recently implemented a new web-based catalog software which will enable us to host virtual exhibits and give online access to our catalog. However our old slow computers need to be replaced, and we have to borrow the media scanner from the Minnesota Historical Society, making the process slow to a crawl.  With the new equipment such as, 2 new computers and a scanner, we can get our collection online faster and anyone will be able to view the rich history of Carlton County from the comfort of their own 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.