About us

Mission

The Minnesota Military Museum seeks to strengthen public understanding of how armed conflicts and military institutions have shaped our state and national experience. We do this by documenting, preserving, and explaining military history as it was lived by the people of Minnesota. We also function as a major repository in Minnesota for historical artifacts and records of a military nature.

While visiting the museum, we want you to learn why and how events unfolded as they did. We want you to gain an appreciation for the actions and sacrifices of Minnesota citizens who served in all branches of service and on the home front—in times of peace and times of war—from our state’s early frontier days up to the present.

It is a salute to their spirit and enduring accomplishments.

Museum History and Governance

The Minnesota Military Museum traces its beginnings to 1976 when the Military Historical Society of Minnesota was organized for the express purpose of establishing a state military museum—the result of visionary collaboration within three organizations. The Minnesota Department of Military Affairs agreed to provide facilities at Camp Ripley. The Minnesota National Guard Association’s history committee formed the nucleus for a governing Board of Directors, and the Minnesota Historical Society agreed to transfer various “start-up” artifacts to the museum and lend some staff support for the first two years. The museum, housed in a former enlisted men's club, opened to the public in June 1977.

The museum moved to its present location in 1987. The main building, constructed in 1931 as a regimental headquarters for summer field training with the Minnesota National Guard, was remodeled and expanded in 1986-87 for use by the museum.* It still houses most of the museum’s exhibits, the administrative office, and the museum gift shop. Over the years, several adjacent buildings were also rehabbed to provide space for artifact storage, workshops, offices, library, archives, a classroom, and vehicle exhibits. The entire museum “complex” now covers two acres and includes several buildings. Outdoor exhibits of vehicles, tanks, aircraft, and artillery pieces are placed throughout the museum grounds.

The museum continues to be operated by the Military Historical Society of Minnesota (MHSM), a non-profit educational organization chartered to preserve and interpret Minnesota’s military history. It is federally recognized as a charitable 501(c)(3) corporation. A Board of Directors comprised of an executive committee and at-large members governs MHSM. The board appoints an Executive Director who oversees operations for the Society and the museum. The museum also employs an Administrator who provides administrative support, a Curator responsible for exhibits, collections, and history-related programming, an Archivist responsible for an extensive archival collection, and a Librarian responsible for the 15,000 volume library. The museum is certified by the U.S. Army Center of Military History and the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, although its mission encompasses all branches of military service. The museum continues to work closely with the Minnesota Historical Society, which also serves as its fiscal agent with the Minnesota Legislature, and with the Minnesota Department of Military Affairs, which provides the facilities used at Camp Ripley.

* The architectural design was inspired by the buildings of old Fort Ripley, a 19th century frontier army post (1849-1877) located a few miles upriver.

Military Historical Society of Minnesota

The Military Historical Society of Minnesota, Inc. (MHSM), is a non-profit educational organization chartered in 1976 to preserve and explain Minnesota's military history.  It is recognized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The Minnesota Military Museum is the principal activity of MHSM.   Governed by a Board of Directors, MHSM operates the museum as a public/private partnership in cooperation with the Minnesota Historical Society, the Minnesota Department of Military Affairs, and the U.S. Army Center of Military History.  The Board appoints the Executive Director and the Curator. 

Most of the operating funds needed for the museum come from private sources: gifts and grants, admissions fees, gift shop sales, and income from investments. A legislative allocation covers the remaining amount (about 30 percent). 

You can support the museum by becoming a member of the Military Historical Society of Minnesota.

New Site & Facility

In allocating $13 million for a new Military Museum, state legislators ensured construction of a facility befitting the service and sacrifice of Minnesota Veterans.

Annual Reports

2021 Annual Report
2018 Annual Report
2017 Annual Report
2016 Annual Report
2014 Annual Report
2013 Annual Report

Additional annual reports may be available for viewing at the Museum's Archives. Please contact the Archives if you are interested in viewing other reports.

ALLIES Newsletter

A Newsletter for Members and Friends of the Military Historical Society of Minnesota and the Minnesota Military Museum

Vol. XXV, No. 4 - 2017 Fall
Vol. XXV, No. 3 - 2017 Summer
Vol. XXV, No. 2 - 2017 Spring
Vol. XXV, No. 1 - 2017 Winter
Vol. XXIV, No. 4 - 2016 Fall
Vol. XXIV, No. 3 - 2016 Summer
Vol. XXIV, No. 2 - 2016 Spring
Vol. XXIV, No. 1 - 2016 Winter

To access archived issues online, please click here.

Press Releases

March 6, 2023

Board of Directors

Staff List