The Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County will reopen their museum at the Hjemkomst Center on Monday, Feb. 1, with updated hours and visitor guidelines. The galleries, archives and gift shop will be open 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. seven days a week. Visitors are required to wear masks, maintain appropriate social distance and accommodate new museum and gallery capacities.
HCSCC staff follow the same guidelines and perform self-screened health checks each day. HCSCC has employed other safety measures including the installation of several plexiglass shields and more frequent cleaning and sanitation. The City of Moorhead has also modified fresh air exchange and filtration at the Hjemkomst Center.
HCSCC has used the museum closures of the last year to pursue several archival and construction projects, including a full collection inventory, a COVID-19 community history project and several grant-funded gallery upgrades. New LED light fixtures and timers were installed throughout the museum this summer and a new museum wall system has been installed in 4th Floor Gallery and Heritage Hall, which regularly house HCSCC’s local art and history exhibitions, as well as stage areas for Pangea and Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival.
HCSCC will resume guided tours of the Moorhead Stave Church on April 1, but no other HCSCC events have been announced. HCSCC will continue to monitor public health and industry guidance as the organization determines its 2021 live event schedule.
HCSCC’s current exhibitions include “The Grand Army of the Republic in Clay County,” a profile of local Civil War veterans; “Red River Girl: From Telemark to the Buffalo,” a bilingual history of the Thortvedt family’s immigration that was collaboratively produced with West-Telemark Museum in Norway; and “Roots of the Red River: Through the Lens of Russel Lee,” a photographic history of Polk County’s 1937 sugar beet harvest.
For more information or questions about accessibility and accommodations, please contact HCSCC Communications Manager Davin Wait at (218) 299-5511, ext. 6733, or davin.wait@hcsmuseum.org.
