Our Exhibits

The 18 - Civil War Exhibit

Come learn about the 18 volunteers from St. Louis County who signed up to fight in the American Civil War; remarkably, these 18 individuals also played a pivotal role in the development of Duluth and the County.

At the time of the Civil War, about 350 people lived in this area. The exhibit showcases the lives of the 18 men who went to fight for the Union. Among these 18 individuals was the City of Duluth's future first mayor; St. Louis County's future first sheriff; the person who built the first frame house in Duluth; and a member of the Merritt family, who was among the first to discover iron ore on the Range.

While the exhibit is on display at the Depot, a number of items that are of incredible significance to our local history—and most of which the public has never seen before—will also be on display: the remains of a Civil War cannonball, swords used by Confederate and Union officers, and a cross section of a piece of oak tree brought back from Gettysburg, in which a Minie-ball is embedded. These pieces and others graciously drawn from the St. Louis County Historical Society's collection enhance the exhibit.

This exhibit is the result of the Veterans' Memorial Hall's intern program. It was researched and prepared by two local students, Roxanne Backowski from St. Scholastica and Lauren Lundberg from the University of Minnesota Duluth, under the guidance of Dan Hartman.