Ober Foundation Awarded Legacy Grants

The Ernest C. Oberholtzer Foundation was awarded two Legacy grants provided by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society.

The grants will fund two different initiatives. One is to hire professionals to assess and write a collections storage plan for a historically significant collection of books, which will allow greater protection and public access to this resource. The collection was housed in a flood prone building on Mallard Island. In a move to be more flood resilient, the board voted to move this special  collection of books to International Falls to the Backus Community Center. We hope to create a Mallard Island Annex Library there.   We are excited about the expanding access to this collection.

The second initiative is to hire a qualified specialist to conduct a conditions assessment of the Oberholtzer Estate’s historic stonework on Mallard Island, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.   This report will help provide a roadmap to restoring the vast amount of stonework surrounding Mallard Island, the former home of Ernest C. Oberholtzer. People boat by Mallard Island throughout the summer season to admire the historic buildings and the stonework. We are hoping to ensure that this can continue for generations to come!

The Foundation is thrilled to be awarded these grants and we are thankful to the people of Minnesota for making this grant possible. We will provide updates on these projects as we move forward.