Dacotah Prairie Museum
When you step into the Dacotah Prairie Museum, you step back in time over 100 years ago to witness the people, progress and natural history that combined to propel the prairie region into existence.
Come see and hear the story that the prairie has to tell.
About the Museum
The idea for a community museum in Aberdeen dates back almost 70 years. In 1938, John Murphy, a Northern State College professor, and Marc Cleworth, a salesman, created the Northern South Dakota History Museum which was housed in the Central building on Northern's campus. The collection of this first museum grew rapidly through loans and donations until by 1941, it had amassed a collection of over 500 items.
Our Mission
To preserve and share the stories of the Dakota Prairie and its inhabitants
Our Vision
The Dacotah Prairie Museum, a non-profit, permanent learning center in service to all people, is committed to the continued growth of its collection of material evidence representing the ongoing history of its region. This collection will be used by present and future generations to study and interpret the lives and accomplishments of previous generations inhabiting the Dakota Prairie. Through these endeavors the Museum will continue to advance itself as a cultural, educational and economic asset to South Dakota.
Our Values
- Respect: For people, their stories, their artifacts
- Excellence: In personal and institutional performance
- Achievement: Through timely accomplishment of stated goals
- Responsibility: To ourselves, to each other, to the institution and to the public
- Fairness: In judgment and decision making
- Integrity: In preservation and presentation
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