St. Louis County Historical Society Appoints Wayne Gannaway as Executive Director!

Wayne Gannaway is Excited to Return to Duluth!

The St. Louis County Historical is pleased to announce that it has hired Wayne Gannaway as its executive director. He began on February 3, 2025.

Wayne brings a passion for local history, along with a national perspective and experience applying museum and nonprofit best practices to challenging circumstances.

Wayne and his wife, Rebecca, will be returning to Duluth, where they lived from 2009 to 2012. During that time, Wayne worked as a Byways Specialist with the Arrowhead Regional Development Corporation's America's Byways Resource Center. In this role, he helped communities along the Northshore Scenic Byway, Skyline Drive, and Superior National Forest Scenic Byway, as well as nationally, maximize the benefits of their scenic byway designations.

Most recently, Wayne was the executive director of the History Center of Olmsted County in Rochester for five years. Major accomplishments of his tenure include building community awareness, particularly through partnerships and programming; increasing membership; diversifying revenue sources through grants and individual giving; and partnering with the stakeholders on strategic and long-range planning.

At Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, a historic site in Lynchburg, Virginia, Wayne wrote grants and directed programming and marketing. He was a curator of historic properties at the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connect. Wayne began his career at the Minnesota Historical Society’s historic site’s division.

Wayne worked as a military police officer in Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War with the Minnesota Army National Guard. He is a member of the Rochester chapter of Disabled American Veterans.

“St. Louis County and Duluth have an incredible history that is admired throughout the state. You can see it in the rich eco-system of history and heritage organizations throughout the county. It’s also seen in the impressive history of the county historical society. They’ve developed an enviable museum collection, excellent exhibits, and award-winning publications in their 103 years of collecting, preserving, and presenting the county’s public memory.”

“I look forward to working with historical society supporters, veterans, public officials, tourism and nonprofit leaders, and all who are interested in preserving and sharing St. Louis County’s compelling history.”