Historic site closings expected to impact tourism

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

FAIRFAX -- Many of the school kids and foreign visitors who visit this 1850's Army outpost during summer know its story and come to see the places they've read about in history books.

Many in the towns along the road that connects the fort to other destinations along the Minnesota River know that sites like Fort Ridgely, which sits at the western tip of Nicollet County, and the Lower Sioux Agency in Redwood County are key points during tourism's high season.

The Minnesota Historical Society, which operates both sites plus one more with state funding, announced recently that it expects to close several of its historical sites around the state and cut 30 percent of its staff in anticipation of a $4.3 million reduction in state funding.

Both Fort Ridgely and the Lower Sioux Agency are along the Minnesota River Scenic Byway, a stretch of road that starts in Browns Valley, follows the Minnesota River to Mankato and then bends upward, ending in Belle Plaine. The goal of the byway is to promote the cities and counties that it crosses.

Schools also rely on both those sites and the Harkin Store, located down the road from Fort Ridgely, to teach American history to their students.

Tim Talbott, Lower Sioux site manager and byway committee member, said the proposed July 1 closing "is still somewhat tentative although it does appear that's what's going to happen."

The closings will come at a time that is traditionally the peak of tourism season to the area. Talbott and Nancy Zempel, site manager of Fort Ridgely, said most of the people who visit their sites arrive in between mid-July and mid-August. Talbott said 6,000 people visited the Lower Sioux Agency and 10,000 people toured Fort Ridgely last summer.

"We're kinda bummed by it," Zempel said. "It's been many years and this is kind of a close group."

Fort Ridgely was attacked twice during the Dakota Conflict of 1862 and the Lower Sioux Agency played a role in sowing the seeds of the conflict.

Talbott said the fort and the agency represent some of the most significant events in Minnesota history and are two of the most prominent features along the byway. The byway also incudes several sites that won't be affected by the site closures.

Terry Sveine, tour coordinator for the New Ulm Chamber of Commerce and a byway committee member, said local officials are upset about the closings. He said one of the byway's themes centers around the Dakota Conflict and Fort Ridgely and the Lower Sioux Agency play central roles in that theme.

"There are visitors to New Ulm that come just to look at (Dakota Conflict) sites," said Sveine.

Zempel said the interpretive center would likely close and its summer programming after July 1 would end if Fort Ridgely is closed. She said the fort's grounds, trails, golf course and the state park that surrounds it will stay open.

The society's plans also call for the closure of the James J. Hill House in St. Paul and the Oliver H. Kelley Farm in Elk River. The society also expects to reduce hours at its museum in St. Paul and reduce and possibly eliminate grants to county and local historical societies.