MARSHALL, MN — The Lyon County Historical Society Museum is being recognized with a 2026 Minnesota History Award for a major project that expanded and improved its artifact storage facilities.
The award, presented by the Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums, highlights the society’s Collections Storage Rehousing Project, also known as the Mark S. Goodenow Collections Storage Room, located in the basement of the Lyon County Museum.
In an interview with Marshall Radio, Jennifer Andries, Executive Director of the Lyon County Historical Society Museum said, “It’s the heart of the organization. It’s very important to preserve what we have in our collection, to store it properly, to be able to retrieve it easily for people who are doing research or when we want to change exhibits out. And having just more space, the room didn’t change, but having a new system that we can more than double our capacity to store things is really important.”
The project was funded through a legacy grant along with support from the estate of Mark Goodenow. Improvements included the installation of high-density compact shelving, allowing the museum to significantly increase its storage capacity. Renovations also featured new flooring, ceiling tiles, paint, and lighting, along with the addition of a dedicated work processing room.
The upgraded storage space was completed in fall 2024 and is designed to better preserve and manage the museum’s growing collection.
The award will be presented April 30 at the alliance’s annual meeting in Mankato.
Below are pictures shared by the Lyon County Museum of the new storage facilities.
