Benton County Historical Society Raises Funds For Museum Elevator

SAUK RAPIDS (WJON News) -- Anyone interested in preserving the history of Benton County can attend a new fundraiser later this month. The Benton County Historical Society and Museum is hosting the event on Sunday, September 27th from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Northern Hollow Winery in Foley.

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Executive Director Lacey Fontaine says there will be some special information just for attendees.

During the fundraiser, we'll have a silent auction.  We'll also be doing a special presentation on the 1886 cyclone.  Since it's the 140th anniversary, we wanted to bring something new to the table, so we'll have research that's never been conducted before and we'll present it.

This is a fundraiser to help pay for the installation of an elevator at the museum, which is in the 1873 Robinson House in downtown Sauk Rapids.

Fontaine says the elevator is necessary because they plan to debut four new exhibit spaces on their second floor later this year. They will have a dedicated military space to honor the veterans of Benton County, and they'll have a children's room of toys and clothing.

We're going to have an 1886 cyclone room where we'll have a special piece in there that we're excited about, but I'm not ready to talk about it yet.  And the last room is going to be a decades room.  We'll start with the founding of Benton County and the settler history that we have.  Then, every couple of years it will rotate to a new decade.

The main level of the Benton County Historical Society and Museum is open now to the public with an exhibit space and a research area. They are the county's record holder. Fontaine says they get a lot of requests on school houses, businesses, cultural events, and genealogy.

You can buy your tickets to the fundraiser on their website