The Western Hennepin County Pioneers Association (WHCPA) has been a
continuously active organization since its founding in 1907. The
membership currently numbers over 500 families and businesses, from Alaska to
Florida, almost all having their roots here in Western Hennepin County.
The Museum and Research Center was established in 1958 in the
basement of the State Bank of Long Lake, and in 1968 moved to its present
location in the historic 1917 Long Lake schoolhouse.
In an effort to expand the historical offerings, several
buildings have been added: the restored 1858 log school and two
carriage houses on the main site in Long Lake, a satellite museum in the old
Independence Town Hall on Highway 12 west of Maple Plain, and the restored
log house of homesteader Charles Wolsfeld, now located adjacent to the
Medina City Hall on County Road 24.
The WHCPA still adheres to the charter that was adopted in
1907 - "to cultivate fraternal and social relations among members, to
preserve the record of the lives of the pioneers and to provide for the
preservation and care of such articles as portraits, paintings, manuscripts
and records of historical value."
¡ Brochure, "Pioneer Museum& Research Center,"
Organization & History.
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