Historical Society sites shuttered on typically busy weekend

All 26 sites run by the Minnesota Historical Society were closed, beginning Friday. The announcement on its website was accompanied by a photo of a hand-forged latch, locked.
The July 4th weekend tends to be among the busiest for the sites as families look for connections to history on the national holiday, said John Crippen, the society's director of historic sites and museums. In all, the society was expecting about 12,000 people to visit all its sites, including about 7,000 at its two busiest -- Historic Fort Snelling and Split Rock Lighthouse.
Several sites, such as the Kelley Farm, in Elk River, and Historic Forestville, in Preston, are known for their July 4th observances; many families make it a tradition to celebrate the holiday there.
Crippen emphasized that the lost visitors represent the loss of needed gate revenues.
"Every day we lose revenue, that's revenue we never get back, and that accumulates over time," he said. Summer revenues help fund the society's wintertime work, including making facilities available to about 250,000 school children a year.
In the shutdown, about 650 employees were laid off; the couple dozen who remain largely are in charge of keeping sensitive historic sites secure.
--Maria Baca