Sue Sitter/PCT McHenry County Historical Society President Anna Thorson stands near boxes of historical artifacts and documents in the meeting room of the future museum’s second floor.

TOWNER — After more than 30 years of inactivity, the McHenry County Historical Society has come to life again, thanks to a group of residents dedicated to preserving the unique heritage of the county’s rural towns.

According to information from McHenry County Historical Society Secretary Kathy Holte, a group of county residents brought the society back to life after the original group dissolved in the late 1980s.

Members of the historical society visited McHenry County towns seeking support and ideas for a museum, a project that had begun in the 1980s before the original historical society disbanded.

Members gathered ideas and decided to build a museum to depict life in McHenry County’s towns, with a special tribute to county military veterans. The society also accepted a very special collection of letters written by North Dakota-born author Louis L’Amour.

The new society elected a board of directors. The board’s current members are Anna Thorson, president, Towner; Kathy Holte, secretary/treasurer, Voltaire; Larry Hamman, Elaine Hendrickson, Jeff Keller, Towner; and Mildred Rothgarn, Rugby.

The fledgling museum in the 1980s consisted of a former church building housing a collection of documents and artifacts. The former historical society shuttered the building in the late 1980s. As time passed, the old church deteriorated and the boxes of items stored in it suffered damage from mold.

Museum’s new home

In 2018, the historical society secured the former city hall building in Towner for a new museum.

Thorson said the society chose Towner for the museum’s location because of its distinction as the county seat.

The city hall building was constructed in 1906, its original construction funded by the City of Towner and the Towner Masonic Association. According to information supplied by Holte and Thorson, the Masonic Association owned the second floor, leasing it to the Knights of Pythias and other civic groups through several decades.

“This used to be a fire hall at one point. It was also city hall,” Thorson said, walking through the building one Saturday in March. “Then, after they had the courthouse built, it was a fire hall and they’d put their fire trucks in here and the city used it for other things, such as storage.”

“There used to be a little jail in the back,” she added.

Thorson said the museum would reflect the heritage of Towner, known as The Cowboy Capital of North Dakota.

“There will be a feel for that,” she said. However, she added, “There will also be a representation of the different places in McHenry County.”

Thorson stepped around ladders and equipment used by Hamman, who was busy with the building’s remodel project. The second floor of the building held boxes of artifacts from McHenry County communities. One metal sign advertised the Drake Threshing Show. Thorson said other boxes contained “what we could rescue from the old church that pertained to McHenry County.”

“Every town has their own thing,” she explained. “Obviously for Drake, it’s their threshing show. We want to get people involved from those communities so they can represent their community best.”

Dust particles floated in the sunlight streaming through newly installed windows upstairs.

“These windows are awesome,” Thorson added. “We just had these installed this past year through the funding that year through a grant. We rely on donations and memorials and funding and grants and volunteers to help us to do things like Larry is doing downstairs.”

Hamman’s work included covering over old window and door spaces in the large space downstairs, and installing a cement floor with heating capabilities.

Special collection

In a letter to community residents and donors, Holte described plans for three main museum exhibits. One tells stories of McHenry County’s towns. Another exhibit pays tribute to McHenry County’s veterans. The L’Amour exhibit gives a nod to what Thorson calls Towner’s “Cowboy flair.”

“We’ve got probably 8,000 letters from Louis L’Amour,” Thorson said.

“We received this collection from Meredith Hawkins-Wallin,” she added. “Her family was personal friends of Louis L’Amour and the Wallins have roots in McHenry County.

“Meredith got this collection from her parents and she’s been storing it, and her family always had the idea that this would be in a museum. So, the plan for this is to complete their dream and this will benefit McHenry County, where they’re originally from.”

Thorson said before the museum could display L’Amour’s letters and other items, “We’ve got a lot of things to do.”

Future plans

Plans called for the second floor to keep its open spaces, Thorson noted.

“This is to be a community space where people can do interactive learning,” she said, pointing out the meeting room. “We want to keep this great room intact and not filled with a bunch of stuff. We have several possibilities.”

Other parts of the second floor will have modifications to make space for a resource room.

“Our secretary has lots of resources where people can come up, and if they want to look at their genealogy family histories or look at old newspapers, that will be on hand here,” she said.

“We’re hoping to have a children’s activity room as well,” she added. That’s kind of our thought.

“The downstairs main area will have two bathrooms and an office. It will have the main exhibits.

“We don’t have a lot of space, so we want to use the space we do have efficiently,” she added.

In addition to the new main floor and windows, other renovation work on the building since 2019 includes a new steel roof, exterior masonry work, and replacing the exterior passage door, gutters, and downspouts.

Future work includes renovations and insulation on lower-level walls, installing electrical, heating and air conditioning systems, making restrooms in the building compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, and installing a chairlift to make the museum’s second floor accessible to all.

Funding for the museum comes from several state and local sources including a county mill levy; membership purchases; generous donations by individuals; raffles; gaming proceeds from the Rugby Eagles; gaming proceeds from the American Legion New Salem Post 91 through Towner’s Rafter F Bar; cookbook purchases; North Dakota Community Foundation grants; the North Dakota Main Street Tourism Grant; and the North Dakota Cultural Heritage Grant.

Thorson said people with connections to McHenry County “have an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of this museum.”

She said the historical society is seeking volunteers to create museum exhibits and contribute “pictures of your (McHenry County) town, farm, or elevator with a story; veteran photos or stories from the struggles or adaptations made at home and/or unique items that represent McHenry County.”

For more information on how to help, call Thorson at 537-5551 or send email messages to thorsont4@srt.com. Letters and items may be sent to Thorson at 7079 Willow Rd., Towner, ND, 58788, or Holte at 975 42nd St. N, Voltaire, ND, 58792.