Welcome to the Martin County Historical Society! Our Mission is to preserve and share the history of Martin County by acquiring, conserving, appropriately displaying, and making it accessible for viewing, research, and educational purposes. Please feel free to enjoy one way in which we attempt to fulfill that mission: our website. We have many features such as historic articles and an online tour of each room for all to enjoy. We hope that everyone can find something interesting in our internet home. If you like what you see please consider coming down to the Pioneer Museum located near the Downtown Plaza section in Fairmont, MN or becoming an annual member. Thank you for taking the time to enjoy our website and Martin County’s History!

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MCHS Updates

January 10, 2011:

Greetings and Salutations! While the MCHS usually has to contend with a winter lull this time of year there've been some exciting happenings going on to go along with our unusually nice weather.

One exciting thing this winter is a big new acquisition for the historical society, a 1944 Farmall "H" Tractor. The tractor was donated by Lee Forstrom and his family. The tractor was purchased new by his parents, Elmer and Ione Forstrom, from the Hansen Implement Co. in Sherburn. The new Farmall "H" replaced the family's smaller IH F-12 tractor and brought much excitement to them and their farm. The tractor served two farms in Martin County, both a few miles west of Sherburn. The family moved in 1952 to Lanesboro, MN where the tractor continued to serve the family into the 1990s. The tractor was then refurbished and overhauled by Elmer and Ione's children (including Lee) who donated the tractor to the museum in loving memory of their parents. The MCHS is very happy to be the home for this piece of agricultural history; our friends at Heritage Acres will be helping us house and use the tractor.

Another big completed project is the renovating of what is now called the "Birth Record Room." The room will soon house the "birth records" of Fairmont Railway Motors motorcars. Volunteers Norm Langford and Phil Hanson worked very hard to turn the room from a storage space into an area conducive for research. A VERY big thank you to those guys! Check out the pics below to see the progress and completed result.

Lastly, one of my favorite days at the museum came this past Monday. The annual visit from the Minnesota International Speakers group. Students and speakers from all across the globe came to Fairmont and as part of their trip they stopped at the Pioneer Museum. It's always a ton of fun to not only have so many people in the museum at once, but to have people from all over the country/world experience our museum!

Thanks again to all who volunteer their help and all who visit!

-James Marushin
Curator-

P.S. Don't forget that the Martin County Historical Society is now on Facebook! So if you are a Facebook user, come visit our page and/or "Like" us to stay connected with MCHS!