Beltrami County Historical Society opens new archives library in Bemidji

The Beltrami County History Center now has a dedicated home for records that were once crowded together and harder to use. The new Louis and Mary Lou Marchand Library and Archives opened with a ribbon cutting at 130 Minnesota Ave. SW in Bemidji, giving residents, researchers and families a more organized place to track down local history.

The practical change is bigger than the name suggests. The new research and archives area expands public access to photographs, documents and local historical records, while also making them easier to protect. Materials that were scattered through the museum collection can now be gathered in one space, a shift that matters for people trying to confirm family lines, reconstruct property histories or study how Bemidji and the rest of Beltrami County developed over time.

The collection includes yearbooks, phonebooks, town directories and annuals from across the county. Visitors will not check materials out like a traditional library. Instead, staff help by copying information for users, a setup that keeps one-of-a-kind items in place while still making them usable. The room also offers public Wi-Fi and computers for researchers, which should help students, genealogists and others who need to search, compare and save records on site.

Emily Thabes said the project came together after the museum ran out of room for its existing collection, and she described the new wing as a way to repurpose museum space more effectively while expanding what the Historical Society can hold. The project took about a year to complete and was funded through private donations and a Beltrami Electric Cooperative Operation RoundUp grant.

The library is named for Louis and Mary Lou Marchand, longtime supporters whose work has been tied closely to the Historical Society. Louis Marchand taught for many years at Bemidji State University and wrote several books. Mary Lou Marchand began volunteering at the county museum around 2013. Lois J. Jenkins has said the couple devoted their lives to researching, collecting, preserving and sharing archives, and the new space gives that work a more visible public home.

The Beltrami County Historical Society has operated since 1952 and now uses the restored 1912 Great Northern Depot for its History Center and Museum, Archives, Research Room, special exhibits, historical publications and gift shop. In a county where old records can shape everything from family memory to public accountability, the new archives room turns preservation into a day-to-day service.