History

In 1948, the Pine County Historical Society (PCHS) was formed. In 1964, it opened a small museum on Main Street in what is now the Vintage Pub. In 1969, the Great Northern Railroad donated the Askov train depot to the PCHS to be used as a museum. During that time, the Presbyterian Church was also acquired. Then in 2000 the old Standard Station located on the corner of Brogade and Dannebrogsgade was acquired to become a farm museum. Then in 2012, the old HC Andersen School, named after the famous Danish Author Hans Christian Andersen, and bus garage was purchased and the PCHS started to move in. 

Museum Grand Opening

The grand opening of the Pine County History Museum was held on June 6, 2012. The old school had a cafeteria that was set up like a café, so the PCHS decided to open that up to serve breakfasts and lunches. It was named after one of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales, The Little Mermaid. Within the Café there are many historical pictures of local communities as well as many antique toys. There is also a banquet room and two events center that are available for rent. The rest of the building, which is 50,000 square feet, is filled with artifacts from the immigration years and forward. The former Presbyterian Church is now used as a thrift store with the sales of donations going to support the museum. The other three former museum building have been re-purposed in the community.

Pine County History Museum Facebook Page

Visit the Pine County History Museum Facebook page.