FOUNDING OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The Northfield Historical Society (NHS) grew out of the activities of the committee formed to celebrate America's bicentennial in 1975. One of the goals of the committee was to establish a museum and to find a home for it. The committee first looked at Joseph Lee Heywood's house. The group agreed although the house had great historical relevance, it would be hard to adapt it for use as a museum. A few months later, the Scriver Building came up for sale. The group made an offer of $125,000, and the owner agreed.
The committe then began the lengthy process of developing a non-profit organization run by volunteers. The new society had no money. So with a great deal of help with publicity from the Northfield News and KYMN radio, NHS immediately started asking for contributions.
The first substantial gift the society received was from the Northfield Lions Club. This was followed by donations from FUTURE (Friends United to Undertake Restoration Efforts) and from many businesses, organizations, and individuals. Finally, NHS had enough money to feel that the building was secure. On July 4th, 1976, the Northfield Historical Society celebrated its formation and dedicated the Scriver Building to public service as a museum.
Since it's founding NHS has been committed to honoring and preserving Northfield's past. This can be seen in many of our events, but mostly through our youth education programs. Every year, about 50 students from the Northfield public schools take part in our Summer Assistant, Jr. Curartor, or Jr. Posse program. In addition, every year NHS serves about 10 interns and volutneers from area colleges.
