Do you know about the Northfield History Collaborative?

 

 

You are interested in Northfield history. Maybe it is to research your family history, to learn about the Bank Raid or more about the founding of Northfield. Where do you go to begin your search? As in any community you might start at your local historical society or library.  But, as you will soon find, records for a community lie in libraries, archives, museums, newspapers, churches, civic organizations, clubs, colleges, with individuals and more.  This was the challenge the Northfield History Collaborative faced in 2007 when it began meeting to address this issue.  The goal was to create an online “one-stop shop” for Northfield history.   By building partnerships and technology, the Collaborative provides a structure that brings all of these resources together.

Since 2007 6000 items have been digitized and made accessible at www.northfieldhistorycollaborative.org. The collection now includes manuscripts, photographs, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, books, scrapbooks, maps, audio recordings, newsletters, etc. It also includes the beginnings of the Northfield Student Research Collection which will include papers on Northfield topics from Northfield students, grades k-16. 

The Collaborative has grown to include 11 partners, including the Northfield Public Library. The Collaborative officially operates as a committee of the Northfield Historical Society and much of the work has been funded by the Minnesota Historical Society Legacy grants.

One of the major contributions to the Collaborative  from the Northfield Library is the Emily Bierman Northfield history scrapbooks. Emily was quite a history buff and began these scrapbooks in the 1920s and 1930s. She collected mostly newspaper clippings on Northfield history but there are also programs, booklets and some original photographs. It's a real treasure trove.  There are 9 of them in all (over 1500 pages!)  and can be viewed and searched full-text on the collaborative website. 

Some highlights include:
Original photos of Joseph Lee Heywood, his wife and daughter
Carleton College Glee Club program, 1888
Golden Jubilee of Social Lodge No.48 - program
Articles about milling and the bank raid
Invitation to the Masonic Ball at the Opera House, 1888

 Thanks to Ariel Butler, the project manager for the Collaborative for a lot of hard work getting these digitized and  up on the web.