290 - Main Street Museum

Walking into the Main Street Museum transports you back in time to a dusty street surrounded by the hustle and bustle of an old prairie town. Each shop depicted in this museum played a critical role in the communities they were in. A post office and telephone office served a role in connecting this big world of ours. The doctor and dental offices kept locals healthy and in tip-top shape, while the lawyers office and jail ensured safety and order. Churches and school houses were built in pioneer towns, as well as General Stores and, when the time came, gas stations. Main Street Museum also includes a main hall with a stage, saloon, beauty and barber shops, a library, millinery, and shoe and harness shop, each lovingly recreated to be as authentic as possible. The museum allows you to immerse yourself in times long past with a variety of collections featuring an impressive array of Native American artifacts on loan by the Dale Quanbeck family, doll and toy displays, local wedding attire and women’s hats, and an assemblage of vintage radios and cameras. Rooms specifically dedicated to Veterans, Norwegians, and Native American enhance the experience and help you truly envision life long ago. The cobblestone walkway adds to the charm as the memorabilia connects you to the history.

Across the grounds, the Congregational Church moved here from Michigan, ND in 1994, remains a lovely beacon of hope and light. Carved wooden pews, paneled doors, and original hardwood floors are surrounded by many of the original church furnishings and remain just as beautiful today.

Along with churches, school houses are another prominent feature of small communities, both past and present. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, most students in North Dakota attended one-room schoolhouses, similar to the school house here, Sheyenne No. 2, which was built in 1922 south of Tolna. Historically, a single teacher would instruct all students in the first through eighth grades, with the youngest students sitting in the front of the classroom. The student and the teacher desks in this schoolhouse are original. Imagine being a young child sitting in the front row, being taught reading, writing, arithmetic, history, and geography. The one-room schoolhouse may resemble your very own classroom with the teachers desk in front, near the now extinct blackboard, but there were, more than likely, two very clear distinctions. One, there would have been a wood burning stove since there was no other source of heat. The other difference? The closest bathroom to your classroom would have been outside, in an outhouse. While no longer holding class, this schoolhouse, donated by the Don Hoveskeland family and moved here in 1994, still shares history about the country schools of this area.