Minnesota military & Veterans museum

The Minnesota Military & Veterans Museum traces its beginnings to 1976 when it was organized for the express purpose of establishing a state military museum—the result of visionary collaboration within three organizations. The Minnesota Department of Military Affairs agreed to provide facilities at Camp Ripley. The Minnesota National Guard Association’s history committee formed the nucleus for a governing Board of Directors, and the Minnesota Historical Society agreed to transfer various “start-up” artifacts to the museum and lend some staff support for the first two years. The museum, housed in a former enlisted men's club, opened to the public in June 1977.

The museum moved to its present location in 1987. The main building, constructed in 1931 as a regimental headquarters for summer field training with the Minnesota National Guard, was remodeled and expanded in 1986-87 for use by the museum.* It still houses most of the museum’s exhibits, the administrative office, and the museum gift shop. Over the years, several adjacent buildings were also rehabbed to provide space for artifact storage, workshops, offices, library, archives, a classroom, and vehicle exhibits. The entire museum “complex” now covers two acres and includes several buildings. Outdoor exhibits of vehicles, tanks, aircraft, and artillery pieces are placed throughout the museum grounds.