The Anoka County Historical Society received a grant award for $10,000 to digitize the Olson Family Collection, allowing for greater public access to this historic resource courtesy of the Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Small Grants.

This funding, awarded through a competitive application process, will provide for the digitization of a collection of family artifacts including approximately 4,700 photographs, 2,000 documents, and 150 other items. Already housed in proper archival storage, these items accumulated for over nearly 150 years from an underrepresented portion of Anoka County. The collection donor has agreed to donate to ACHS the physical collection, upon their death. Until that time, the digital copies created through grant funding will provide the public with access, as they will be held at ACHS.

“We’re extremely lucky to have the opportunity to host a collection of this depth and breadth,” said executive director, Rebecca Ebnet Desens. “So often families lose a portion of their story to fires, moving, or lack of documentation.”

The Olson family farmed in Ham Lake, originally settling the area during the late 1800s. Collectively, they owned approximately two hundred acres of land. The Adolph Olson family were dairy farmers and Effie, the matriarch of this branch, kept studious records of the family’s holdings, including how much they spent on repairs at Ham Lake’s first tavern, which was situated on the family’s land. The land where the Olson's once lived and worked has been commercially developed during the past 40 years, leaving none of the original buildings. However, due to Effie’s efforts, the family’s story–and that of Anoka County growth–can be told through pictures (including snapshots of people and the area going back to the early 1900s) and documents.

Effie’s daughters continued her tradition of recording transactions and rural lifestyle when they became stewards of the collection upon Effie’s death. Their contributions added chapters to the story from the 1980s to the early 2000s. Unusual documents include details of a family member’s treatment for addiction at an Anoka County facility in the late 1980s, which presents an important aspect of history not currently present in the collections. Another unique story told by the collection is that of a gay man born in Ham Lake in the 1920s who grew up in the community. This represents one of the earliest known stories of homosexuality in our county and its preservation is incredibly important.

Upon completion of the digitization work, ACHS will create an online exhibit, a physical exhibit, and a companion publication to highlight some of the stories that can be told using the collection. The small exhibit space at the history center restricts the number of items on display at once, however, thus making the flexibility of online exhibits on the website, AnokaCountyHistory.org, especially useful in catering to the increasing need for physical accessibility and socially distanced education/entertainment.