state school orphanage museum

GwenZ657

Self guided tour for the most part. You will see what life was like for the children who were left here. It is emotional and thought provoking. Tour the main building which houses the museum and a local art gallery. Then visit the boys cabin, cemetery and grounds. One of the last surviving boys lends his voice and stories through recordings that can be heard from multiple stations throughout the campus. He is also available for presentation to large groups for a donation to the museu, if requested in advance.

LuvToTravel0899

I have a relative that lived in the orphanage and this is a very, very good tribute to the people that have lived there.

nagel57

It was so interesting. The museum is well organized. There are audio kiosks placed around the entire estate to listen to that explain what you are seeing. A must see.

retiredguy2014

If you are in Owatonna, MN you must visit the State School Orphanage MuseumMany people are not aware of the State School Orphanage which was in Owatonna.It is very interesting and provides a glimpse into the days of the past. On certain days you can even visit an old dormitory to see where the kids slept and what their days were like. There is also a cemetery on the grounds which you can visit. All in all, a very interesting museum!

TBTSM

This was a blast from the past. If you are at all interested in child welfare or what a window into how things were, this is your place. It is beautiful yet haunting as you look back at how children were raised in the orphanage. I left with mixed feelings about the value of an orphanage. I found it interesting that many of the displays were voiced over by a former child at the institution. From his story-telling, you could tell he was somewhat torn as well. Very well done - worth the time!

VoddyK

This was such a moving experience. First you drive up to these beautiful grounds and see majestic buildings that were made to stand the test of time. You go into the main building and start reading some of the stories and see the photos and you begin to feel some emotional pain. We were fortunate to be there when the Boy's Cottage was open. Oh my-the poor children that lived in this environment. The audio clips were so interesting-as he explained some children didn't mind their stay because it was better than the chaos they came from while others were left there because their parents could no longer take care of them. Cannot imagine being that parent that had to leave their child/children off at the door. It sounded like the female matrons who each had 25-30 children in their "cottage" could be some really evil people. SOme of the children became indentured servants! That was shocking.....if you stayed for any length of time you were definitely institutionalized. Thank-you to everyone who helped make this museum a monument to the children and to the poor souls in the children's cemetery.

marlenef358

Lived in Minnesota for over 30 years and had no idea this hidden gem was only an hour away. Went with a local tour group, and we all felt impacted by this visit. The volunteers are so dedicated and was fortunate to have an actual resident of the orphanage as our guide. The museum staff provided us with delightful refreshments after the presentation. Then, we had time to tour the actual rooms. Very, very interesting.

A_Miracle_Day

I've been visiting this site since I was a child. I have always been fascinated by the lives of the children who lived at this orphanage. There are a lot of artifacts to see, and stories to read. It's a somber day, but it's a good day too. They just opened a new cottage for viewing, to see where the kids slept and played. It's worth your time.

TravelinAltHSTeacher

I met friends here, who with me took the self-guided tour through the museum and then the walk through the grounds, where audio stations are set up. This is a high quality presentation of history. I will return to walk the grounds again with others. There is no fee, but there is an opportunity to leave a free-will donation in Cottage 11, where the suggested donation is $2.00. One touring the large site will hear the voices of former staff, administration, faculty, and residents and family members. This is powerful!

europewithKellynRyan

The State School Orphanage has a museum, cottage, audio tour, and printed information for learning more about the history. It was my understanding that one needed to arrange a tour guide by having a group. We were fortunate to be allowed to "tag along" with a previously formed group led by Harvey Ronglien, former resident from age 5-18. It was unfortunate we didn't know about the group sooner as we were in the museum, but we were able to hear from Harvey while touring Cottage 11, which was his home. The grounds are beautiful. There is a cemetery on site where 190+ children were buried. Many were put into graves marked only by their number. Through Harvey's initiation and the community involvement, all graves have been marked with crosses and names. There is a memorial boardwalk. There are donation boxes to help support the efforts.

2gothere

On a recent visit to Owatonna we stopped here to visit. The grounds are impressive. The buildings have been maintained very well. Most of them are being used for different groups. The museum has nice exhibits of how the orphanage was in the past. There are many pictures and stories to read from actual people who lived there. Some of the stories were good and others were so sad. It was amazing to see how many children had passed through this institution and how it had affected them. We actually met a man who had been there for most of his childhood. He is a guide there to answer questions you may have.We then took the self guided audio tour around the grounds and learned so much more about how the place was run when it was open. We toured the cottage some of the boys lived in and learned more from audio boxes placed throughout this building. The saddest visit was at the cemetary with all the little crosses with the names of very young children on them. It was a great learning experience for my family.

OwatonnaTraveler

Every person young and old should visit. It tells how some of the orphans ended up here and how they were treated once they arrived. This shows the hard life that orphans had and how self sustaining this orphanage was. Make sure that you take the self guided walk of the grounds as well as visiting the museum. Take time to visit the cemetary to reflect on the life of the children buried here. Many children didn't make it; others did, but it affected their lives forever. There was no love here. This will leave an impact on everyone that visits. More cottages are being opened and there is talk of one of the tunnels being opened in the future.

Tonnatraveler

This museum had a HUGE impact on my kids who each toured as 6th graders. It's hard to think about children living without families, sick and lonely, even dying. Today's youngsters and adults will come away with an appreciation for how very good we have/had it.

ShellyB856

They have a large collection of items from the period. Cottage 11 is especially moving. You really get a feeling for the era the school was actve.

wallflowerone

It was sad to read some of the stories about some of the children their, and the cemetery also for the children that died their. It was free, I looked for a donation box and was unable to find one. The cottage wasn't open when we where their, if it had been I would have loved to have taken a look inside it, they need to open it sooner in the day. Despite me finding it sad and depressing I did find it interesting. I will also add, it's nice to see that the place has been preserved (no longer forgotten) and the buildings are still being used by local gov. offices.