Celebrating the Heritage of the Smoky Valley
Lindsborg Old Mill & swedish heritage Museum
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The Historic 1904 World’s Fair Swedish Pavilion is at risk of permanent loss.
Learn today how you can help Save the Pavilion!
Old Mill Museum
The Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum celebrates and preserves the pioneering spirit of the Smoky Valley by educating, entertaining, and building community across generations so that history comes to life. With special emphasis on the period from 1870 to 1910, the museum includes two buildings on the National Registry of Historical Places and extensive archives and artifact collections.
The museum archives can help find your family roots. If you have ancestors who lived in McPherson County, it’s likely some record of their lives can be found in the historical documents. Have Swedish ancestors? Ask about resources for Swedish research!
1898 Historic Flour Mill
1904 World's Fair Swedish Pavilion
1870 Homestead Cabin
Watch Mill of Memories, Mill of Dreams below…
An introduction to the Old Mill, its history, and its workings.
UpComing Events
"Skeleton-Of-Dog": Mini-Exhibition
Open Now
A temporary exhibition highlighting the best geological artifacts, fossil specimens, and natural history taxidermy from the old Bethany College Museum collection archives.
Heritage Christmas
5:30 - 8:00 p.m., December 14
This classic, old-fashioned Christmas event is held annually on the second Saturday in December, and centers around community music performances in the 1904 World’s Fair Swedish Pavilion.
Historical Speaker Series: Rev. Carl Aaron Swensson (Reenactment)
January 2025
First president of Bethany College, Rev. Swensson was called to Lindsborg by the Synod to serve at the Swedish Bethany Lutheran Church. In 1881, he stepped out on his own to found Bethany College.
This is a first-person portrayal by Jim Ruble. Jim has spent considerable time researching Rev. Swensson and his life.
Historical Speaker Series: Alma Luise Olson
1:30 p.m., February 8, 2025
Alma was born and grew up near Lindsborg. She was educated at the Bethany Academy and Bethany College, from where she moved on to Chicago for graduate studies, and then moved to New York City to become a New York Times journalist and a correspondent.
Presented by Karen Humphrey.
Historical Speaker Series: Amalia Rabenius
1:30 p.m., March 8, 2025
Amalia was hired in 1900 to teach in the Model School at Bethany College. More specifically, she started a new program in Slöyd, a curriculum of manual training that teaches the use of a slöyd knife to make a variety of structured projects, usually in wood.
Presented by Dr. Marlysue Holmquist. Dr. Holmquist is a retired Bethany College professor.
Millfest
Saturday, May 3, 2025
Each spring, the museum hosts Millfest – a family event celebrating the history of the mill and the pioneer heritage of the region. Millfest is held the first weekend in May and features guided tours of the mill in operation.
<!--Svensk Hyllingsfest
October 13 & 14-->
<!--Virtual Swedish Genealogy Workshop
9 a.m. - 4 p.m., October 21-->
Group & SChool TOurs
At Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum, the staff and volunteers strive to provide educational opportunities to children. The museum offers a wide range of activities for group and school tours. We have designed our programs to help teachers meet curriculum standards. For most programs and tours there is a minimal fee involved.
CampGROUND
Rentals
The Old Mill Campground is a small park area, with mature trees and a gravel road looping through, along the Smoky Hill River. It has 12 thirty amp and 6 fifty amp electrical hook-ups, and a large area suitable for tent camping.
