Dassel Area Historical Society

05/23/2026

Rolls and coffee will be served at the Dassel History Center following the 9am Memorial Day program at the Dassel cemetery. This is a time to gather as a community in remembrance of all members of the U.S. military who fought and died in service. Included this year is a slideshow of Dassel programs, parades and veterans, including a picture of Enus Belin, the first WWII casualty from Dassel.

05/21/2026

Visit the Earl Doering art exhibit now open at the history center!

05/19/2026

Tomorrow is the last day to plant your seed corn! The History Center plot is already sprouting. How is your garden growing? We'd love to see some pictures!

05/07/2026

Just a reminder of the Dassel History Center's hours. Contact us to schedule a tour or event!

05/01/2026

Get your corn here! Dassel was historically known as the seed corn capital of the world. We're celebrating that heritage by sponsoring a seed corn planting project. Everyone with a connection to Dassel should stop in to pick up a packet of corn or or contact us through Facebook and we will mail the corn to you. The corn needs to be planted by about May 20 so it can reach maturity. Share pictures of your corn and location, and you may even win a prize! Many thanks to Dahlman Seeds for donating the corn.

04/28/2026

Dassel women's bowling team at a 1964 Minneapolis tournament. From left: Wincie Haapala, Janet Varland, Arlys Gayner, Gladys Bengtson, Gladys Haapala.

04/22/2026

From Our Files: Earth Day 1993. Brian Raisanen and Neal Peterson happily hug a tree.

04/21/2026

In 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was signed, 99.9 percent of Minnesota's human population was Indigenous. "All we have are the tools they left behind to 'tell' their story," said the late Bob Munter, a Dassel native and U of M Soil and Research Science Laboratory Administrator. Some of those tools and other items, such the American Bison skull found years ago in Lake Jennie and donated by the late Harold Mattson, are now displayed in an "Indigenous to Explorers" exhibit on the museum's second floor. Please visit the exhibit honoring the area's culture and landscape prior to contact with Europeans in 1650.

04/15/2026

From Our Files: April 15, 1926. Dassel Dispatch reported, "Magnus Johnson, former United States Senator from this district, was recently endorsed at the Farm-Labor Convention for Governor of Minnesota. Mr. Johnson is a Meeker County farmer who resides on a farm about three miles west of Kingston. He has a fine family of boys and girls. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have hundreds of friends in the county and state who are boosting for him."

04/08/2026

Charlie Maguire will play a jaw harp during his Saturday afternoon free concert at the history center. Hope to see you here!

This is far from the first jaw harp video on YouTube! But the sound of this lower-pitched Appalachian jaw harp and my emphasis on breathing rhythms rather t...

04/03/2026

Charlie Maguire is looking forward to seeing you at his free concert sponsored by the Dassel Library Saturday, 2pm, April 11, at the Dassel History Center. RSVPs are suggested but not required. Hope to see you Saturday!