Where the Big Woods Meets the Prairie.
Explore | Your History
The Nicollet County Historical Society provides a wealth of resources, exhibits and programs that honor and preserve our shared history.
Learn More Become a MemberSt. Peter, MN
The E. St. Julien Cox House was the home of one of the earliest settlers of St. Peter. Eugene Cox was an attorney, St. Peter’s first Mayor, and a representative to the State House and Senate. The Home, built in 1871, is one of the few fully restored Italianate homes in Minnesota.
Fairfax, MN
In 1853, the U.S. military started construction on Fort Ridgely, near the southern border of the new reservation and northwest of the German settlement of New Ulm. The fort was designed as a police station to keep peace as settlers poured into the former Dakota lands.
New Ulm, MN
Savor the smells and sights of an 1870s general store as you sample the wares or try a game of checkers. Chat with the costumed staff, or sit on the porch and envision a steamboat plying the river below. When the railroad bypassed West Newton, the store was forced to close with much of the unsold inventory still on the shelves, where it remains today.
Learn MoreSt. Peter, MN
The Dakota Indians called this place Oiyuwege, meaning “the place of crossing.” French explorers called it Traverse des Sioux, or “crossing place of the Sioux.” For centuries, Traverse des Sioux has been a crossroads and meeting place for people of many cultures.
St. Peter, MN
The Treaty Site History Center is the headquarters of the Nicollet County Historical Society. You can stroll through a restored prairie adjacent to the Treaty Site History Center. Located inside the Treaty Site, you can take in absorbing exhibits that change periodically through out the year.
Become a member of the Nicollet County Historical Society today!
Treaty Site History Center exhibits and NCHS offices are closed December 15, 2019-January 6, 2020.