Mille Lacs County Historical Society

The Mille Lacs County Historical Society (MLCHS) is an all volunteer organization which is located in the gorgeous 1902 brick and stone Princeton (MN) Great Northern Railway depot. The MLCHS was founded more than a half century ago. Its mission is to collect, preserve and present information about the history of the events and people of Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, focusing on Princeton and the southern part of the county.

The one block square campus of the MLCHS contains the 215 foot long Princeton depot, the tiny
Long’s Siding (MN) Great Northern depot, a full size railroad caboose, two boxcars and a flatcar. The property also holds a one room country school which is used as a living museum for elementary school kids in summer classes. A large (32 by 68 foot) meeting room which formerly was the Freight House of the depot is available for rental events.

With your GiveMN donation, you are helping the MLCHS:

• Maintain and restore the history of the 123 year old Princeton GN depot and other structures on the property, such as the working telegraph line between the two depots on the property and improvements to the 1856 Pioneer School building on campus
• Enhance current exhibits and create special exhibits, such as the “Potatoes, Peat and Prisoners of War” show currently on display in 2025
• Project the issue of local history into the community by exhibits installed in the Police and Fire building and in the local hospital and with weatherproof historic photo signage at key             locations in the community
• Provide research assistance using online and microfilm sources and images from our 30,000 image photo archive to answer history and genealogy questions
• Maintain and index the recently acquired photo archive of the Princeton Union newspaper
• Update our central Birth, Death and Marriage records as previously unknown ledgers appear
• Digitize museum artifacts and documents to make them more accessible to researchers across the country and beyond
• Offer tours to individual visitors as well as class tours of the museum, Pioneer School and rail cars
• The Mille Lacs County Historical Society is located at: 101-10 th Street South in Princeton, MN 55371. We are an IRS approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in good standing. Visit the museum on Wednesdays and Fridays                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Your donation is tax deductible. Please visit our website and Facebook page and explore all we have to offer!