Minnesota State Public School Orphanage Museum

06/11/2026

Some may have seen photos posted of a large tree that fell into the Children's Cemetery overnight. We are happy to report that the main damage was to just three monuments and we know how to fix them. No stones were broken! Thank you to those who shared photos and especially the City crew who cleared the scene so quickly. We're feeling grateful.

06/09/2026

This story made me wonder how different things might have been if Baby Boy Wolfel had been born in 2026 instead of 1906. Advances in medicine alone might have changed the outcome for both mother and child. In 1906, bronchopneumonia--his cause of death--was often devastating and frequently fatal, especially for infants and the elderly, because antibiotics were still decades away. By 1916, peritonitis was widely regarded as a near-certain death sentence; without antibiotics, abdominal infections caused by ruptured organs were rarely survivable, let alone while pregnant.

Social attitudes have changed as well. The stigma attached to having a child outside of marriage was far stronger in the early 20th century than it is today. It is impossible to know what choices Elsie might have made under different circumstances, but I can't help wondering whether, in another era, she may have been able to keep her baby.

06/05/2026

We have some exciting news we'll share soon about the Children's Cemetery, but here's a preview of one of the things on our list! It's hard to believe this is the fourth year Tim Shea has taken charge of improvements at the cemetery. And it all started with a random road trip to explore Owatonna!

06/04/2026

"𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐔𝐩!" - 𝐕𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐧'𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨
Thank you to the City crew for installing the bench in memory of Vivian Swan Manthe in Maxine's Garden. Vivian came to the State School with her sister Beverly in 1939. Even though Vivian ended up in Texas, when she got word that a museum was being formed, she came to Owatonna and met with Harvey Ronglien to see how she could become involved. They never met while they were children at the school, but they soon became fast friends. No one can understand a State Schooler better than another State Schooler.

Vivian donated several items to the exhibits, but she also provided a wealth of information about her experiences at the State School. She and her family made many trips from Texas to visit the Rongliens and the museum. She said the museum helped tell her story to her children. All our visitors benefit from her help.

06/03/2026

We added Maryland to our list of states that sent visitors...not that we're keeping track. ;-) Thank you for bringing your company to the Orphanage Museum!

05/31/2026

We've had a lot of out-of-state visitors already this season, but the two young men from South Africa who came today win the distance prize! They are working in the US till December. During their free time, they travel sites in the area. Volunteer Kathi was their tour guide.

Recently, people who signed our guestbook came from Idaho, Oklahoma, Texas, California, South Dakota, North Carolina, and Massachusetts!!

05/29/2026

Just like the Minnesota State Public School children, the students who came to the Owatonna State School (1946-1970) had different experiences and different memories. Overall, conditions were better at OSS than the orphanage. According to Harvey Ronglien, corporal punishment ended shortly after the institution changed in 1946. Many of the matrons remained the same, so they had to learn new methods of discipline.

05/28/2026

05/27/2026

This morning the OHS Child Development II Class visited Cottage 11. Reading "The Boy from C-11" by Harvey Ronglien is part of the curriculum, which includes a field trip here at the end of the semester.

How fortunate that this unique piece of child welfare history has been preserved!