Projects

Capital Improvement

Exterior Brick and Masonry Work

Our beloved 1889 Northwestern Bank Building is a cornerstone of historic downtown Aberdeen. It is a beacon of architecture that enchants downtown visitors and invites them to explore our humble county museum. While the south and west facades of the building are in excellent shape for its age, the north and east sides of the building are woefully in need of masonry repair work that far exceeds minor maintenance.

The Plan:

The museum will be applying for a Deadwood Grant to help with the major costs of this project. This is a process that will involve the services of a building assessor and architect along with getting quotes from local masons equipped to do historical restoration work. Additional funds will be needed for professional fees leading up to submitting the necessary documents for a preservation grant.

How can you help?

Please consider a contribution towards our “EXTERIOR BRICK AND MASONRY REPAIR PROJECT.” Your funds will ensure the museum building’s exterior will last another century and continue to be a beautiful, historic downtown building for locals and visitors to enjoy.

Thank you for your support!

Capital Improvement

Awning Replacement

Help us to replace our building awnings. The South Dakota wind has taken a toll on the striped canopies that festoon our historic building. Awnings not only add the appropriate aesthetic to the Romanesque profile of the building but also provide needed shade to the 9ft tall windows on the first floor. Even though the windows are specially designed to block UV light that might shine on artifacts on display, the added protection of the awnings is needed.

These awnings were last replaced about 10 years ago and after many patches and repairs, that’s about the maximum life of the canvas that is exposed to the wind, snow, rain, hail, and did we mention wind of the Dakota plains. Fabric design fitting to the 19th-century look of the museum building will be chosen.

How can you help?

Please consider a contribution towards our “AWNING REPLACEMENT PROJECT.” Your funds will give the museum a fresh look and something that attracts visitors to our historic building for many years to come.

Thank you for your support!

Exhibit

Railroad Exhibit Remodel

The little engine that could…until it just couldn’t anymore. Our small, model railroad diorama is fun to watch for train enthusiasts young and old and in-between. However, going around in a tight circle all day, every day is damaging to model train engines and a much larger platform is needed to truly maintain a model railroad appropriately and to better represent Aberdeen at the turn of the last century.

Aberdeen is the Hub City. At one time there were nine railroad lines crisscrossing through town with four active depots. Even today we are still a railroad town with frequent daily routes passing through. Just wait…and you will hear the train horn blowing and the railroad crossing signals dinging at some point during the day.

The Plan:

Working with dedicated model railroad enthusiasts with the James Valley Model Railroad Association, the DPM staff are working out an expanded platform, going from a small 3’x3’ table to a 4’x10’ tableau. It will represent Aberdeen in 1911, when the new CMSP depot was built at the intersection of Main Street and Railroad Avenue and there was still a trolley system going from Northern Normal & Industrial School all the way to Wylie Park. Automobiles vied for space on Main Street with pedestrians, bicycles, and horse-drawn wagons.

How Can You Help?

Please consider a contribution towards our “ABERDEEN ALL ABOARD! RAILROAD HUB OF THE DAKOTAS – RAILROAD EXHIBIT REMODEL PROJECT.” Your funds will allow us to purchase track, train cars, engines, diorama décor, and building/electrical materials. An expanded railroad exhibit will delight all of our patrons and teach them about the boom years of our railroad town.

Thank you for your support!

Exhibit

Children’s Exhibit Remodel

Help us to update our popular Children’s exhibit, located on the 2nd floor of the museum. These three rooms have been well-used for almost a decade and deserve a fresh look and theme.

Currently, the exhibit “Frontier Town” has provided hours of fun for pretend play that includes: transportation, general store, and homestead.

What’s up next?

One-Room Schoolhouse! Everything you need to get ready for school at home, don’t forget your lunch pail and piece of coal for the schoolhouse stove and then hunkering down with your McGuffie Readers to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic in the little school on the prairie.

How can you help?

Please consider a contribution towards our “CHILDREN’S EXHIBIT REMODEL PROJECT.” Your funds will provide years of creative and imaginative play that will delight our youngest of patrons.

Thank you for your support!