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Animiki

Open for Summer 2012

Our research center is open from May 1 – September 15, Tuesday – Friday to genealogists and researchers for a $10.00 fee. The museum is open for the season, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Tuesday through Saturday. We offer an obituary file and microfilmed county newspapers from 1894 to present, hundreds of family and individual histories, numerous city and village histories, and thousands of photographs.  We also have information on all of the eighty-nine cemeteries in Cass County and transcriptions of forty-four of them. We have recently compiled several new lists of county information we have such as past postmasters, early county divorces, box holders at Ah-Gwah-Ching and family histories in the Longville Centennial book. Also available on our publications page are excerpts from local history books about Boy River, Federal Dam, Remer and Sugar Point, posted with the permission of the author.

"Free Fridays"

An exciting feature this year at the Museum is "Free Fridays." Many area businesses and organizations have sponsored Fridays when admission to the Cass County Museum will be free. Come on in and look around - you'll spot new things each time. "Free Fridays" this summer are sponsored by the following businesses: Gramma Jo's House, June 1; Moondance Events, June 22; Orton Oil Co., June 29; First National Bank, July 6; May Creek Lodge July 13; the Otto Ringle family, July 20; and the Walker Rotary Club, July 27. Anyone who wishes to sponsor another Free Friday at the Cass County Museum should contact Sue Eikenberry at 218-675-6183 or e-mail tenmile@tds.net.

The 1898 Battle of Sugar Point 1898 Battle of Sugar Point

Authors Cecelia McKeig and Renee Geving present some of the stories from the battle and its aftermath. The book includes important information from the Chicago and D.C. branches of the National Archives as well as much local research that was gathered over the past eight years. The book sells for $24.95 and is available through the Cass County Museum and the Little Apple Bookstore in Walker. If ordered, please include sales tax and shipping.

Drive In and Visit Us!

For researchers who are unable to personally visit the research center, the staff will do research for a fee.  For those who desire additional family research, we can refer you to a genealogist who specializes in Cass County research.  Additional information is available by phone, mail, or email.

Meetings

Next scheduled Board Meeting TBD.

2012 Summer Hours: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Tuesday through Saturday.

Admission: Adults $4.00; Children $1.00; Family $9.00 (Group rates available with reservations)

Our newsletter, "Cass County Clippings" is available in PDF format on our Newsletter page.

Ah-Gwah-Ching Bricks Available

Ah-Gwah-Ching Main Building

Ah-Gwah-Ching Sanatorium served its patients from 1907-1961. The new antibiotic agent, Streptomycin, was introduced in April of 1947. The first tubercular patient to receive the antibiotic made a complete recovery. This new drug enabled patients to be treated closer to home. The death rate for tuberculosis showed a steady decline from then on. After treating nearly 14,000 patients over 55 years in the battle against tuberculosis, the facility closed on January 1, 1962. The complex was converted into a state nursing home for geriatric patients known as Ah-Gwah-Ching Nursing Home.

A limited number of Ah Gwah Ching bricks were salvaged after the buildings were torn down at the site and were delivered to the county garage. These bricks were carefully cleaned. They are for sale as a fundraiser for the Cass County Historical Society. The price for each brick is $10. Please contact the museum to purchase a brick.

The following local history book and additional publications are available at the museum or by mail.

Still Available: Murder and MayhemMurder & Mayhem

The dynamic writing duo, Renee Geving and Cecelia McKeig, have produced this paperback entitled Murder and Mayhem about crimes in early Cass County, several of which have never been solved. Renee Geving is from Walker and is director of the Cass County Museum. Cecelia is a resident of Federal Dam, and they have utilized the newspaper archives and the state archives to put together these accounts.

If readers are looking for a good murder story of the north woods, a gripping tale of love gone wrong, or an unsolved murder of a hundred years ago, this is the book to have. The book follows the stories from newspaper accounts of the day and court records and addresses such pointed questions as, Who killed Patrick Hawley and buried his body in a manure pile? Who shot George Barclay on a cold October night at Pine River? Was Cass Lake’s Dr. Dumas an outstanding citizen, wrongly accused, or a Jekyll and Hyde character? Why was there only one hanging in Cass County? Was Chounard an example to the rest of the would-be offenders?

Follow the development of the story in the words of the first-hand witnesses, and in the editorials of the day. The book is currently being sold at the Cass County Museum and at the Little Apple Bookstore.