Historical Museum Celebrates 20 Years

Be sure to stop by the Gothenburg Historical
The Gothenburg Pony Express Historical Society encourages all Gothenburg residents to visit the museum, even if you have in the past. Board members pictured, from right, are Treasurer Anne Anderson, President Roger Heidebrink, Vice President Mark Peyton, and founding member Dick Larson. (Leader photo by Ellen Mortensen)
The Gothenburg Pony Express Historical Society encourages all Gothenburg residents to visit the museum, even if you have in the past. Board members pictured, from right, are Treasurer Anne Anderson, President Roger Heidebrink, Vice President Mark Peyton, and founding member Dick Larson. (Leader photo by Ellen Mortensen)

This year marks a milestone for the Gothenburg Historical Museum. They are celebrating 20 years of keeping local history alive in the beautiful brick building the museum now calls home.

The Gothenburg Pony Express Historical Society was founded in 1980, and in 1982 the organization was incorporated as a nonprofit, doing business as the Gothenburg Historical Museum. “They had collected a lot of memorabilia, but never really had a place to display it,” explains long-time board member and Treasurer Anne Anderson. “They tried a place downtown, but it was not big enough.”

In 2005, Anderson was serving as the director of the Gothenburg Chamber of Commerce when she was approached by Leonard Widholm who had recently purchased the brick building on Avenue F from the Plymouth Brethren. “He told me he …