Plymouth’s Old Town Hall Now Re-Opened as History Museum

The former Plymouth Town Hall building on Fernbrook Lane is now back open as a museum where anyone can come in to learn more about the history of the city and even research their own projects by examining artifacts and searching documents and photographs.

The former Plymouth Town Hall is once again open as a museum and research center.

“Just a lot of people are curious, and also people who come in are curious about the city they live in or they have a history question, (or) they want to do genealogy or a house history,” said Ryan Barland, a historic site coordinator for the City of Plymouth. 

Barland and his team of mostly volunteers help digitize and catalog pictures, and they hope to expand their programming and resources soon.

“We are working on getting an oral history recording so we can preserve peoples’ lived experiences as well,” said Barland.

Historic Site Coordinator Ryan Barland with the City of Plymouth shows off part of the collection of artifacts housed at the former town hall building.

The town hall building was first built in 1885, and was used for many decades, and even used for boxing matches and as a food shelf, said Barland. He said volunteers took it over in the 1960s and turned it into a museum that was operated by the volunteers until 2018, when it closed and went back into the city’s control.

“Everyone wants to, whether you live here or work here, whether you’re new or you’ve lived here for generations, everyone wants to know why is this place important?” said Barland. “We try to provide something that’s of interest to everyone that comes in.”

The town hall building is open to the public on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and the first Saturday of each month from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Plymouth | Twin Cities

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