The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the nation’s historic places of preservation. In Minnesota, the staff at the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), a division of the Department of Administration, work with agencies, organizations, and private citizens, to identify and nominate properties to the National Register. This often serves as the first step toward protecting the historic resource or obtaining financial incentives for its preservation.

SHPO began systematically surveying and recording Minnesota’s historic resources in 1977. Today, SHPO maintains the inventory records of over 100,000 properties, both historical and archaeological, that continues to grow with the assistance of preservation professionals, agencies, and local governments.

In Lyon County, there are 12 historic places on the National Register of Historic Places. Recently, on July 18, the Tracy Municipal Building and Amory was added to the National Register making it 12 listings for Lyon County. Prior to this listing, the last historic sites in Lyon County that were listed on the National Register were Bridge No. 5083 and Bridge No. 5151 both in Marshall on June 29, 1998.

Here is the description from the SHPO website for the Tracy Municipal listing: “Tracy, Lyon County. Listed July 18, 2023. The Tracy Municipal Building and Armory is located in Lyon County, Minnesota, at the north edge of the community’s downtown commercial district. The building has a U-shaped footprint comprised of the original 1938 Moderne-style municipal building, located on the east side of the site, and the L-shaped 1958 armory addition to the west. Used for as an active armory until 1992 and for governmental function into the late twentieth century, the Tracy Municipal Building and Armory played important role in the recreational, political, and military affairs of the local community.”

In addition to the Tracy Municipal Building and Armory, the other historic sites in Lyon County on the National Register of Historic Places include: J.S. Anderson House (Minneota), O.G. Anderson & Co. Store (Minneota), Bridge No. 5083 (Marshall), Bridge No. 5151 (Marshall), 13 park facilities at Camden State Park (Lynd), First National Bank (Tracy), William F. Gieske House (Marshall), Kiel & Morgan Hotel/Lyon County Courthouse (Lynd), Masonic Temple Delta Lodge No. 119 (Marshall), Martin Norseth House (Cottonwood), and St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church and Parsonage (Minneota).

The photograph featured this week from the Lyon County Museum’s collection is a postcard photograph of the Municipal Building in Tracy, circa 1945.

The Lyon County Historical Society (LCHS) is a non-profit, member-supported organization. LCHS operates the Lyon County Museum at 301 W Lyon St in Marshall. The Lyon County Museum is open year-round to visitors. To contact us, visit our website: www.lyoncomuseum.org, call: 507-537-6580, email: director@lyoncomuseum.org, or on our Facebook page.