Museum in Hope
STEELE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY - Our Mission …To discover, collect, preserve, and share the historical and cultural resources of Steele County and the State of North Dakota.
The Steele County Historical Society is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1966 for the purpose of collecting, preserving, and making accessible to the public, information and objects relating to the history of Steele County.
Although incorporated and granted tax-exempt status in 1966, the group’s origin can be traced to about 1957, when local historians gathered to help celebrate Hope’s 75th anniversary. This group evolved into the Hope Community Historical Society, which then became the countywide organization in 1966.
The organization has grown and developed over the years, and now operates a historical museum, archives, and cultural center at its facilities, which are located on one block in the center of Hope, North Dakota. Hope is a tiny town (population 280) in one of the smallest counties (population 2400) in North Dakota. Yet this organization continues to thrive and has earned a reputation as one of the most active local historical organizations in the state.
The group has more than one hundred members, a board of nine volunteer directors, and operates on a budget of approximately $40,000 per year. A part time Museum/Artistic Director oversees operations and supervises staff and volunteers, which normally consist of one senior worker and one youth worker (working under Job Service North Dakota programs), a summer intern, and about ten active volunteers.
The collections have been donated by the people of the county, and include home, school, church, and lodge furnishings, buggies, sleighs, vintage clothing, quilts, needlework, general store merchandise, newspapers, journals, family histories, photographs, toys and dolls, books, folk art, farm implements, musical instruments, cook stoves, churns, windmills, spinning wheels, looms, and much more.
Services offered include individual guided tours, assistance with historical research, weaving demonstrations and workshops, period style shows, space for meetings and luncheons, and tours for groups of all kinds.
The museum is open year round with hours varying by season. There is a suggested donation of $2.50 for adults, with free admission for children. In a typical year, approximately 1,500 people visit the museum – usually representing thirty or more states and several nations.
The historical society has an up-to-date computer network and has computerized collections records and will digitize much of the archives in the coming years.
