A Picture is Worth 150 Years:
Dakota County Sesquicentennial Photo Exhibition and Competition

Photographers are needed now for a juried photograph exhibition and competition being held in celebration of Minnesota's 150th anniversary. Over the past 150 years the landscape of Minnesota has changed dramatically. Capturing the places and buildings that form that visual landscape today is an essential part of collecting, preserving and presenting the history of Dakota County. The competition will afford history buffs and photographers a chance to explore and record the rich history of Dakota County while documenting that history for future generations.

We encourage participants to document as many places as possible to create a "snapshot" of the County in 2008. The Society will host an exhibition of photographs from November 15, 2008, through February 9, 2009, at its Lawshe Memorial Museum in South St. Paul. Submission deadline is October 24, 2008.

The Society will collect copies of all the photos taken for its archival collection and entrants will select 8 x 10s in a variety of categories to enter in the exhibition. The categories for the photographs are as follows:

Public Buildings: Government, educational, religious ethnic
Private Buildings: Residences, barns, outbuildings
Old Photographs: Photographs from private collections that depict important locations
Other: Transportation landmarks, natural landmarks/features, tombstones/mausoleums, and man-made features (advertising, signs, art, etc.)

The Society will also be hosting an art sale in conjunction with the show. Entrants may produce prints or notecards to sell in the Museum store. Entrants receive 75% of the sales. Entry forms are available here or at the Lawshe Memorial Museum in South St. Paul, the LeDuc Historic Estate in Hastings, online at www.dakotahistory.org or you can call 651-552-7548 to have one mailed to you.

Modern Interpretations of Historic Designs:
Late 19th Century Designs from Hastings Needle Work

Dakota County Historical Society announces its first juried competition based on embroidery designs from the Hastings Needle Work company. Started in 1888 by Alice and Florence Leduc, Hastings Needle Work produced unique embroidery pieces for their clients from 1888 to the mid-1920s.

Over 1,200 patterns have survived showing a broad variety of design styles and subjects: florals, dragons, birds, geometrical combinations, Indian designs, curvilinear designs. The patterns are in the collections of the Dakota County and Minnesota Historical Societies.

To highlight the diversity of designs, 24 patterns from the Dakota County Historical Society collection have been chosen for this juried competition. Although the designs were originally done in embroidery, participants are invited to use the media of their choice.

For more information, patterns, and application form please click here.

St. Paul Union Stockyards Exhibit
April 12, 2008 -December 31, 2010
Lawshe Memorial Museum

April 11, 2008 marked the end of a 122-year tradition of livestock sales in South St. Paul. The St. Paul Union Stockyards left an indelible mark in the agricultural communities of the Midwest and west while shaping the lives of thousands in Dakota County.

With this exhibit the Dakota County Historical Society has crafted a fitting tribute to the yards and the people who worked there. Partner Town Square Television is creating a one-hour documentary on the yards, the premier of which will be shown at the grand opening of the exhibit in late May, 2008.

Sponsored in part by the South St. Paul Chapter of the Dakota County Historical Society, Central Livestock Association, and Town Square Television.