Grinnell museum hosts sneak peek

GRINNELL — More than 100 area families recently enjoyed a sneak peek of the new Grinnell Historical Museum at 703 First Ave.

The two-hour event, held Saturday, April 26, was hosted by Grinnell Historical Museum Society Board members and volunteers.

Guests enjoyed visiting with board members and historical patrons while checking out a number of both permanent and temporary displays.

Plans are to open the new museum Saturday, June 28.

The idea to purchase a larger building for use as a museum was launched following Ag Day in 2015. The Grinnell Historical Museum Society Board owns a rare, possibly one-of-a-kind, Randolph Header, a wheeled, horse-driven harvester originally created and patented by Walter F. Randolph in 1874 with a patent renewal in 1880.

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The Grinnell company Craver, Austin & Steele acquired the patent and manufactured 10,000 headers in Grinnell and shipped them worldwide. The company moved out of Grinnell to Illinois in 1890 and continued manufacturing the harvester.

There was so much interest in the machine that it inspired society members to look for a larger building for displaying the Randolph Header along with other Grinnell-manufactured items for the public to enjoy.

The Grinnell Historical Museum Society Board owns the McMurray House at 1125 Broad St., but it was not large enough to display the piece of machinery or other artifacts in the museum collection.

When the former Uhlmann Furniture Store became available a few years later, Ann Igoe, a historical society board member, said the historical board was interested.

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The deal on the new building was finalized in November 2022. The building had served as a furniture store since it was built in 1976. It closed Dec. 31, 2021.

Grinnell Historical Museum Society board members and volunteers went to work on the museum project in January 2023. They removed old carpet, ceiling tiles and walls to be ready for the renovation of the former furniture store for use as a museum.

“Anything that could be done by volunteers and board members was done,” said Igoe. “We had a lot of people who volunteered, including one person who painted the inside of the building for us.”

Other work, such as plumbing in the new restrooms, heating and air-conditioning work and electrical work, had to be hired out.

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The 14,000 square-foot building features 10,000 square-feet of exhibit and classroom space, 2000 square-feet of office and workspace and 2,000 square-feet of storage.

There is also a catering kitchen and a meeting room in the new museum.

The focus of the museum will be on stories of agriculture, manufacturing, Grinnell businesses, education and Grinnell life. The board hopes to include Poweshiek County life and work as well.

The Meskwaki Tribe will also have a permanent display at the museum.

Among the historical societies holdings are five Spaulding Buggies. Two are currently on display at the museum. One needs repaired and two more are located at city hall.

The historical society also owns a Laros buggy, which was manufactured in Grinnell. It owns a rare six-cylinder radial airplane engine designed by Billy Robison of Grinnell and five washing machines manufactured by the Grinnell Washing Machine Company. One is in working condition and will be on display at the museum.

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The museum also owns Isabella Beaton’s concert piano, donated by her great niece. Beaton was a pianist from Grinnell who studied and composed in Europe in the late 1890s.

Also on display is a player piano donated to the museum by Scott Marcum, who grew up across the street from the museum, where German Plumbing Heating and Cooling, Inc. is today. The piano was owned by Marcum’s grandparents, Edwin and Elizabeth Schultz.

“We are going to be looking for other Grinnell-based items that might be out there,” said Igoe in a previous interview.

Future fundraising

The museum has reached its $1.5 million goal in the “Campaign 703 — History beyond the Victorian house” to complete renovations on the former furniture building. Board members want to raise an additional $100,000 to purchase special shelving and archival storage boxes for photos, paper and fabric.

“We built a special room to control temperature and humidity,” Igoe said. “Those are the things that damage paper, photos and fabric. We are also needing display equipment such as cabinets with plexiglass tops and movable walls.”

The board plans to hire a full-time employee to oversee the museum. This person, along with board members and volunteers, will operate the new museum.

The board hopes to keep the museum open five days a week from Wednesday through Sunday.

For now, the historical society will keep the McMurray House and continue to use it for historical purposes. It is currently closed due to the move into the new museum.

Keep an eye on the historical museum Facebook page for information on the new museum and the future use of the McMurray House.

“It is definitely an exciting time as we prepare for the opening of the museum at the end of June,” noted museum board member, Terese Grant. “Visitors will be able to see exhibits that show much of the history of the City of Grinnell. It will be an opportunity to learn more about our history and the people who lived here and helped to make this such a wonderful community.”

The Grinnell Historical Museum was recently recognized as one of the 2025 GRINNtogether Award winners. The award recognizes businesses, organizations and individuals who have — and are doing — exemplary work to make Grinnell a great place to live, learn, work and play.

Current Grinnell Historical Society Board members are Bruce Blankenfeld, Doug Cameron, Scott Gruhn, Mike Guenther, Allison Haack, Bill Hammen, Ann Igoe, Barb Lease, Debby Pohlson, Frank Shults, Sherry Wallace, Rebecca Simpson, Jack Morrison, Chris Smith and Terese Grant.

Anyone interested in getting involved in the work of the Grinnell Historical Museum Society or making a donation to the museum project should email grinnellhistoricalmuseum@gmail.com or call the museum at 641-236-7827.

The museum website is grinnellhistoricalmuseum.org.