Festival of History and Celebration of Veterans Memorial Hall
Festival of History and Celebration of Veterans Memorial Hall: A Big Night for the St. Louis County Historical Society
April 8, 2025, 5PM-8:30PM
St. Louis County Depot in the Great Hall
506 West Michigan Street
Duluth, MN 55802
The Historical Society is proud to host the Twin Ports Festival of History and the re-opening of the restored Veterans Memorial Hall on Tuesday, April 8, 5:00 pm to 8:30 pm in the Great Hall at the Depot. The program and exhibits are free and open to the public. As part of the Twin Ports Festival of History, the Historical Society is hosting “Heck of a New Deal: WPA Art of Northern Minnesota,” presented by Brian and Sue Matuszak from 7:00 to 8:00 pm. The Duluth couple will tell stories and present photos of their road trip research of artists and the public artwork they created throughout the Arrowhead Region as part of the Federal Art Project, a program sponsored by the Works Progress Administration.
As part of the festival, the Historical Society will be displaying WPA and WPA-era artwork from its collections. Two interpretive stations in the Great Hall will be showcasing the work of the Historical Society’s American Indian Advisory Committee, and Mining Industry Advisory Committee.
From Setback to Comeback
Historical Society staff and volunteers spent months drying, cleaning, and repairing the Veterans Memorial Hall after a July 2024 water damage emergency. The exhibit, restored to its former glory, includes stories, photos, and artifacts of northeastern Minnesota veterans, from the Civil War to the Global War on Terror. The Historical Society is proud to celebrate the reopening of Veterans Memorial Hall with a ribbon cutting at 6:30 pm on Thursday, April 8, on the third floor, off the Great Hall.
Veterans Memorial Hall was established in 1909 and is a program of the St. Louis County Historical Society. It is the mission of Veterans Memorial Hall to preserve, collect, and share veterans’ stories and artifacts and to educate the public about the history of veterans from northeastern Minnesota.
The Twin Ports History Festival showcases authors and historians of local, regional, national, and international renown at various venues throughout the Twin Ports and in Two Harbors. The event is sponsored by the UMD Public History and Museum Studies Programs and multiple local heritage organizations.
The St. Louis County Historical Society is 501 c3 nonprofit that receives generous support from the people of St. Louis County through St. Louis County Board of Commissioners. The Historical Society partners with six affiliate local historical organizations throughout the county. It educates visitors and residents alike about county history through its exhibit galleries at the historic Depot, open 7 days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and through programs and traveling exhibits. Learn more at www.thehistorypeople.org
