This portrait of Northfield members is undated, but may well be from their 50th anniversary in 1944.

This portrait of Northfield members is undated, but may well be from their 50th anniversary in 1944.

Did you know May 30 – July 4 is the first-ever Northfield History Month? Learn more about the events here.

Every weekday this Northfield History Month, come on over to the Northfield History Collaborative to learn a little more about one of the newest additions to our online collection of materials that help tell Northfield’s history.

The Collaborative’s current project is to digitize records of Northfield-area civic organizations. These groups reflect what interested and what was important to the average Northfielder, and what meant enough to them to spend time on outside of their work and their family.

One of our additions in this project was a brief history of the local chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. The current national organization notes that its members “are dedicated women and men who sincerely reflect the spirit of fraternal love and the desire to work together for good. It gives them the opportunity to give a part of their time to many projects that benefit mankind.  Our lessons are scriptural, our purposes are beneficent, and our teachings are moral.”

Famous members of the past included Clara Barton and Laura Ingalls Wilder.

The Northfield chapter received its charter in 1894. This document observes its fiftieth anniversary. Inside you’ll find a number of names of prominent Northfield women.