All images courtesy of the Minnilusa Historical Association Pioneer Collection at the Journey Museum and Learning Center.
The Minnilusa Historical Association and Pioneer Collection is a non-profit organization that has been dedicated to preserving the history of the Black Hills since 1935. Beginning as the Pennington County Historical Society before changing its name to the West River Historical Association and then the Minnilusa Pioneer Association in 1956, the organization focused on establishing a museum dedicated to Rapid City’s early history. For the past 85 years, Minnilusa has run a Pioneer Museum in a number of buildings in area, starting with the “Pap” Madison cabin in Halley Park. The Rapid City Indian School property housed the collection for a short time until the WPA building in Halley Park became the long-time home to both the Pioneer and Sioux Indian Collections.
Through community effort over most of a decade and Minnilusa’s support, the current, state-of-the-art, $12 million home of the museum, the Journey Museum & Learning Center, was opened in 1997 to house the collection.
Through the museum collection, archives, education, programs, research and other efforts, the association works for the advancement of the knowledge and history of pioneer life in the Black Hills. The Association maintains a collection of nearly 20,000 artifacts, rare and out-of-print texts and letters, a western history library, and a large photograph and image collection.
Included in the association’s collection are approximately 10,000 images related to Black Hills history. Recently, the entire collection of photographs has been made available to view online at www.minnilusa.org or https://minnilusa.pastperfectonline.com/. From the very first photographs taken of the Black Hills during Custer’s Expedition, to early Rapid City, the Stratobowl launch and the Rapid City Flood of 1972, this historic collection has something that would interest anyone.
A mammoth military undertaking, the Custer Expedition of 1874 included more than 1,000 military and civilian personnel, including: biologists, geologists, astronomers, botanists, paleontologists, topographers, engineers, physicians, a 16-piece military band, 100 Native American scouts, herders, teamsters, blacksmiths, saddlers, prospectors, journalists, civilian sutlers, a herd of 300 cattle, 110 wagons and photographer William H. Illingworth. There, he photographed the Black Hills for the first time, making 54 stereoviews that produced a three-dimensional image when seen through a stereoviewer. The Minnilusa collection has a near complete set of this series.
The Fred Farrar collection of nearly 2,500 photographs, which has been featured on Images of the Past before, is the latest addition to the Minnilusa collection. Donated in 2017, it features photographs of Rapid City, pioneers, cowboys, Native-Americans, and the Black Hills from the turn of the century to the Great Depression.
The Carl H. Leedy collection has a large number of photographs pertaining to many aspects of Black Hills pioneer history. Carl Leedy (1889-1976 ,) also known as “The Old Timer ,” was a historian and president of the Minnilusa Pioneer Association in 1956. He also authored two books on the Black Hills, “Black Hills Pioneer Stories” and “Golden Days in the Black Hills ,” and frequently wrote articles for the Rapid City Journal on his historic recollections of the area.
The remainder of the collection has been generated over the years by donors with collections of historic and family photos from the area. The Minnilusa Historical Association’s photograph collection is continuously growing and always accepting donations. If you are interested in sharing images with the Association, please contact us at [email protected].
In addition to the online gallery of images from the Minnilusa Pioneer Collection, a new exhibit will be opening this summer called “Pioneer Journeys: A Digital Archive from the Minnilusa Pioneer Collection” at the Journey Museum & Learning Center. The exhibit will include an interactive touch screen so visitors can view the vast collection of photos in the museum.
High-resolutioncopies of photographs from https://minnilusa.pastperfectonline.com/ can be purchased for $15 for researchers, publication or personal use. Proceeds benefit the Minnilusa Historical Association’s efforts to continue preserving Rapid City and Black Hills history.
Listen to an interview with article author Mark Slocum on SDPB Radio's "In The Moment."