Grand Marais Historical Society

05/11/2026

Time to pretty up the garden and help us fix the Old Post Office Museum! We have some beautiful peonies ready to plant and they are full of buds. You'll get a free peony support hoop with each one. Price is $25 and they are divisions from the rose garden behind the museum, so you know they'll grow well! Here's what we have. Send us a message or text 989-513-2614. Pick up in town.
Leslie Peck - introduced in 1999. Cherry pink with a lighter pink center. Early season bloom. We have 7 of them.
Solfatare - creamy white with a light yellow center. from France, 1861. Midseason bloom. We have 3 of them.
Sword Dance - from the USA, 1933, red with a yellow center. Mid to late season bloom. We have 9 of them.

05/03/2026

Our first meeting of the season will be Thursday, May 14 at 11am at the Heritage Center (Library). We'll get updates on the museums and the outdoor display at the Pickle Barrel, and start planning for summer events. First up: the Community Yard Sale on June 13! Please join us and bring a friend!

04/25/2026

If you're not a member of the Grand Marais Historical Society, we invite you to join! You can even do it online:
https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/35WJ32J37KAUS

Help us preserve our local history!

04/25/2026

As we're all waiting for the snow to finish melting, why not do a little spring cleaning? We would love your donations for the Community Yard Sale! Help us fix the museum damage from the blizzard - all proceeds from the sale will help. NOTE: We will accept donations in the days before the sale.

04/25/2026

UPDATE ON THE OLD POST OFFICE: The March blizzard tore off part of the roof flashing at the OPO and filled part of the attic with snow, which soaked the old cellulose insulation and leaked through the ceiling of the entry room. The ceiling and floor both buckled, and the glass globe of the light filled with water and fell. When we checked the attic, we found the wiring was inadequate and potentially dangerous. Thanks to Nick and Robert at Hitching Post Electric, they rewired the building with additional circuits as soon as ServPro removed the old insulation. The building is drying out now and we'll hopefully have the floor and ceiling fixed in time for our June opening. The new windows and siding will be installed shortly. Watch as we make our little history museum beautiful for decades to come!

01/23/2026

Yup, it's three degrees outside and the snow is really piling up, but let's give thanks for snow tires, seat heaters, and all-wheel drive! Stay warm, everyone! EDIT: If you click the photos open, you'll see they are commercially-prepared postcards. We don't have any information on the people in the photo or the locations where they were taken. Any ideas?

12/14/2025

2026 is just around the corner, and now you can join the Grand Marais Historical Society and pay dues online using the link below! We'd love to have you join us. It's a great year ahead: the Pickle Barrel turns 100 and the Old Post Office gets a beautiful facelift!
https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/35WJ32J37KAUS

12/11/2025

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society of Minnesota is creating a database of 3D shipwreck images that you can view/manipulate. So far they've mapped a little over 20% of the wrecks in the Great Lakes. These are incredible. If you find shipwrecks interesting, you MUST visit this website! Here's a link to Lake Superior shipwrecks:

To visit the shipwreck model click on the name of the shipwreck after you hover over the icon.

11/22/2025

We all recognize this!

While passing through the town of McMillan near Newberryin da U.P. I saw this old school building and I had to stop and take a pic of it. I am thinking it has not been used in a while, but it looks like it is in great shape and someone is taking care of it. I thought it was strange there are almost no windows in the front wall. I guess that is where the chalkboards are hung. I found out it was called the Lincoln School.

P.S. I asked my daughter who is in high school if she ever used a chalkboard and she did not know what I was talking about. I told her it was a dark green or black slate hung on the wall and we used chalk to write on it instead of the whiteboards you have now. She said “that just sounds weird”

11/22/2025

Anybody know this one? 😆

11/14/2025

Here's an interesting Reel about the history of Grand Marais. (Some of the photos might be representative rather than actually taken in the Grand Marais area.)