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All 12 Owatonna Attractions »

State School Orphanage Museum

540 West Hills Circle, Owatonna, MN
507-451-2149
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Ranked #2 of 11 attractions in Owatonna
5.0 of 5 stars 5 Reviews
Description: Life in this home for children from the 1880s to the 1940s is depicted through exhibits of artifacts and narrative documents.
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5 reviews from our community

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Date Rating
Chatfield, Minnesota
Contributor
19 reviews 19 reviews
Reviews in 13 cities Reviews in 13 cities
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 11 April 2012

The State School once was home to all of Minnesota's neglected, abused, or orhapned children. Some loved it, some hated it, but it had a significant impact on thousands of MN children. The museum and cottages are worth spending 2-3 hours to check out.

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Owatonna
Senior Contributor
22 reviews 22 reviews
Reviews in 11 cities Reviews in 11 cities
6 helpful votes 6 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 15 January 2012
1
person found this review helpful

We visited when Harvey Ronglien was a tour guide. He grew up in the orphanage. He stayed late, after closing time to show us the museum and tell us the history.

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See 2 more reviews by Carl W for Owatonna
Owatonna, Minnesota
Senior Contributor
31 reviews 31 reviews
Reviews in 11 cities Reviews in 11 cities
20 helpful votes 20 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 2 January 2012

I try and go at least once a year. It maybe sad but we need to realize how good we have it now. It is our Minnesota history that should not be forgotten.

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See 10 more reviews by tammyb for Owatonna
Minneapolis
Senior Reviewer
7 reviews 7 reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
31 helpful votes 31 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 26 September 2011

For years I have wanted to visit the Orphanage Museum and finally were able to on a recent lovely autumn afternoon. It was late on a Saturday afternoon but we were able to enter the museum through the Arts Center entrance. The cost is free but donations are welcome. The exhibits cover mostly the 60 years that the acreage operated... More

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Chillicothe, Ohio
Top Contributor
133 reviews 133 reviews
Reviews in 90 cities Reviews in 90 cities
319 helpful votes 319 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 17 October 2008
3
people found this review helpful

We visited the State School Orphanage Museum on September 24, 2008. The museum is housed in a large brick building, which apparently also contains various offices for the City of Owatonna. The museum is set up in several hallways of the building, and the exhibits do an excellent job of presenting the life that residents of the orphanage faced. Some... More

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