About Us

At 8 p.m., on January 26, 1952, a group of men and women met at the home of Harold D. Searls, at 1023 Minnesota Avenue in Bemidji, to form a county historical society. This group included local housewives, business owners, a college professor, and physician,

Dr. Charles Vandersluis, who had already developed a large collection of interviews and photographs from the early settlers of Beltrami County. These people, realizing the importance of preserving history for future generations, elected Searls as president, decided to have monthly meetings, and form a corporation at a later date.
 

On November 9, 1952, the Beltrami County Historical Society was founded as a non-profit corporation to serve residents of Beltrami County. Articles of Incorporation were adopted with eight articles. After more than ten years of collecting manuscripts, maps, diaries, journals, photographs, and exhibit artifacts, and storing these items in various basements, Society members initiated a county-wide fundraising campaign for the purpose of building a museum. As a result, a museum building was built in 1962. The BCHS, along with its collection, was housed in this building at 300 Bemidji Avenue, in downtown Bemidji, which was shared with the Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce. Here, the BCHS operated a museum, offered research assistance, and pursued its mission of preserving Beltrami County History, for more than twenty years.
 

In 1993, the BCHS moved to a commercial building located at the Beltrami County Fairgrounds. The structure accommodated the storage and archival needs of the organization; however, exhibit space was limited. In 1999 a collaborative vision to bring the BCHS and the Museum back to downtown Bemidji became a community-wide priority. Minnesota State Legislative appropriations, investments by local units of government, area businesses, and countless individuals achieved an ambitious goal of acquiring the historic 1912 Great Northern Depot. In December 2000, the fully restored Depot became the new home of the BCHS and Beltrami County History Center, complete with an interpretive four-gallery Museum, research library, museum gift shop, meeting room, and archival storage space.