I wasn't sure what to expect when we stopped at the Hinckley Fire Museum, but it ended up being one…read moreof the most memorable parts of our trip. If it's your first time visiting Hinckley, this is one stop that's worth making. The museum tells the story of the Great Hinckley Fire of 1894 through artifacts, photos, and personal accounts that really bring the history to life. It's hard to imagine the devastation until you walk through the exhibits and learn what the community endured. One thing I couldn't help but notice is that the museum sits directly across the street from the town's fire station. There's something incredibly fitting about that. A place that preserves the memory of one of the deadliest wildfires in American history now looks out at the firefighters who protect Hinckley today. It's a quiet reminder of how much the town has overcome. Even if you're not someone who usually visits museums, I'd recommend adding this to your itinerary. It gives you a deeper appreciation for Hinckley beyond the restaurants and attractions and helps you understand the history that shaped the community you see today. Don't forget to pick up a few Minnesota favorites from the gift shop on the way out. I would suggest the maple syrup. Outside of the museum you'll find a relief house. This displays what a typical house was like for a family of four after the fires. It made me appreciate the home and space that I have.

This museum takes you on a history lesson about the town and the horrendous fire that destroyed it…read morein 1894. It has nothing to do with a fire house, if that is what you were thinking (I know I was). It is located in what use to be a train depot. You can still see train tracks in the back. They have pretty much maintained it to it's original glory, even though the first one was burned in the fire. It has a decent sized parking lot and also serves as a welcome center and gift shop for the town. I paid $5 for admission to the museum (which I did not mind a chalked it up as a donation to the preservation of this historical landmark). The museum is decent with a short movie that details what happened with the fire, artifacts from the fire, equipment from the time, information placards, art, equipment and displays from the time like a doctors office, the station's communications room, a relief house, a train caboose and depot agent's apartment. The relief house and caboose are located outside, right near the picnic shelter that has a couple of picnic tables under it. It is a nice place to take a break and enjoy some lunch. Keep in mind that they do not have a restaurant or snack bar on site though. It is a somewhat small museum. The tour is self guided and they give you a laminated sheet that explains each room. The museum is manned by volunteers who are some of the nicest people that you will meet and take a lot of pride in the place. In addition to the fire, the museum has exhibits that touch on its Native American roots right outside of the room the movie is played. This is a nice change of pace from your normal touristy stuff. You also get a decent self guided history tour. I spent about an hour here. I will admit that it gets sleepy at some portions of the tour. However, If you are in the area, I still recommend that you should check it out.

Great food! Great service! Friendly staff! Great view of Mille Lacs lake across the road…read more Definitely want to come back!

Interesting content- native made items and descriptions. Helpful and informative staff. I enjoyed…read morethe guided presentation of native life in the different seasons.

My interest in Historic construction methods and materials often brings me to some interesting, and…read morealot of times off the path locations. The St Cloud area was, and still is one of the Country's largest suppliers of granite. When you love things such as old cobblestone streets, and old stone buildings as much as I do, sometimes you begin to wonder about what different types of stone were quarried and used the most in your area. While St Cloud is by no means a small city, the museum, as well as where the former and present day quarries are is off the path a bit. I was blown away by the exibits at this museum, I'd been expecting just a small museum with small displays. Instead the exibits were huge, and they have a 2 story tall interactive exibit on the quarry's. There was alot of other Central Minnesota history covered with big exibits as well. If you're out in this area and are intersted in Minnesota History, or are a fan of old tyme construction materials I'm sure you'll find this to be a great museum. I think this would be a fun museum for kids as well.

If you're from out of town, you should make the time to check out the Stearns History Museum. It…read morehas exhibits that are surprising for a mid-size town museum. Unfortunately, for those of us who live in the area, the exhibits seldom change. As a result, if you were to go here repeatedly, you'd end up seeing the same thing. Having said that, there are things to recommend. The park surrounding the museum has nice walking paths that are great for a summer afternoon walk. Inside, you'll find a fairly elaborate exhibit of granite quarrying (common to Granite City). You'll also find a nature exhibit that features the flora and fauna common to Central Minnesota. Our children enjoy this section of the museum. There are other exhibits as well, but I'd like to keep some of it a surprise for you to find when you visit. In addition, one of the gold mines at the museum for locals is the library which has extensive materials and resources for doing family research, especially if your family has ties to Central Minnesota. You could spend hours here researching and learning about family members from the area.

This is much more than a railroad museum. It has displays on the history of the Crosby area…read moreincluding mining, tools, household and business gadgets and clothing of bygone eras. The small park next to the museum is nicely done with lots of plants, flowers and trees. Thanks to the wonderful docents who keep this museum open for everyone's enjoyment!

Downton Abbey era museum right in Crosby! Great historical significance, curious objects and…read moreartifacts from antique dresses, to household objects, to railway paraphernalia and mining history. Lovely staff took the time to walk us through highlights. Donations needed! They can't afford central heat in the museum so please stop by and give what you can!

Stars deducted for my own dislike of trains. I guess they are ok, but when they are rusting in a…read morefield useless but for bums and pigeons, who gives a crap. So they were the backbone of the country 100 years ago. So were horses before that. We joked partially about salvaging a few of these old beasts and insulating them and making a crazy modern house. Not so crazy an idea, as their website has some for sale. As for the history side of things? Not my bag. But it is here, and if you are here and you like trains, make a day of it! Go for a ride! Take a tour! Break out those overhauls! Live in the past!

We stumbled upon this Museum as we were making our way across Wisconsin. I love to photograph…read moretrains and take train rides. Unlike Zachary I like trains and found this place fascinating. I only had a little time to explore and what I did see I really like. They have a great collection of fixer up trains and I saw some that I had not seen before. If you have time and enjoy trains this is a must stop. When through this way again I will plan to have time for more sights and hopefully a train ride!

This place is pretty cool and the price is free (donations are accepted though and appreciated)…read more The people running this set up have multiple rooms with the most impressive being the main room when you first walk in. An elaborate set of the northwoods and local ore industry with HO scale trains running throughout (they have all sorts of different scale trains). Not sure what to do on that rainy day or when you need to give the body a break from the sun? Here is that option. The people are knowledgeable and friendly. Perfect for the budding train enthusiast or just to learn something of the area in a cool environment.

We love this place! We live in CA and visit every time we come to MN. My kids talk about it all…read moreyear.

Incredible collection of cars, gas pumps, motorcycles and random memorabilia. Had the opportunity…read moreto meet Vaughn and he made our experience even more special with his narratives on the story behind each car. As random as some of the spaces look, there's actually a great deal of thought and work behind each display. There's a bunch of expansion work coming up...so I can see this area being quite the tourist destination, by MN standards

This was amazing!!! My son and I went with our Cub Scout pack and had a tour. We couldn't be more…read morepleasantly surprised by all the automotive collectibles that were there. We saw restored gas pumps, cars, vintage oil cans and more and they are still adding on. Heidi and Jarrid our tour guides were friendly and very knowledgeable on every piece in the collection. If you are in the Buffalo or Monticello, Minnesota area or you want a really cool day trip, be sure to check out Veit Automotive Foundation.

The museum itself is amazing. The woodworker was truly talented and it is hard to believe that…read moreanyone could do such beautiful life sized work. Our group of 4 was greatly impressed with his talent. The experience would have deserved a 5 star if it had not been for the woman at the front desk who said she was married to the nephew of the sculptor. She was terribly rude to us and continued to belittle us and shame us if we were not listening to her and looking her in the eye while she told us what we were about to see in the museum. After we toured the museum I came out to ask her a few more questions and again she shamed me by saying "You don't read, do you?" That tone continued and still she ranted about the rudeness that we exhibited when she was talking to us. She was the one that was rude. It is too bad that the museum does not have someone at the front desk that is more welcoming and kindhearted. With that being said, I still would recommend the museum, but if this woman is at the front desk, be ware! She is negatively impact on the beauty of the man's work.