Newsletter: The Museum Messenger
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Pavilion Structural Repairs Complete
Now reopening to the public; Tax credits available to replace leaking roof with historic design
Thanks to generous donors and a grant under the Community Service Program (CSP) Tax Credits, a priceless artifact of the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair has been saved from structural collapse.
An engineering assessment in October 2023 found that the Swedish Pavilion is leaning by up to 2 degrees, which represented structural failure. After more than a year and a half of closure for public safety and raising more than $151,500, the necessary repairs were completed and the Pavilion is reopening this summer. A grand reopening ceremony is being planned for later in 2025.
Aubrey Wheeler, museum Executive Director, praised those who donated under the tax credits program.
“This was an amazing team effort,” she said. “So far we’ve had 50 donations totaling nearly $183,000, ensuring the preservation of this beautiful history.”
The CSP grant can apply on up $238,000 in donations, and there’s still more than $56,000 in available donation capacity available under the program up to the end of 2025, which will go to a more durable and historically accurate roof.
CSP is a popular program for Kansas nonprofits taking on major capital campaigns. State tax credits reduce the total amount of taxes owed to the state. They are a way for taxpayers to reduce the cost of contributing.
Donors giving at least $250 to the Pavilion Restoration & Improvement Project may qualify for a 70% tax credit. For example, a donor making a $1,000 gift receives a $700 tax credit when they file their state taxes, making the net cost to the donor only $300.
With the structural repairs now completed, staff at the museum now turn their attention to “Raise the Roof” fundraising for the Pavilion. Any donated funds under the grant that didn’t go to stability repairs will go to partially fund the new roof, with a total estimated cost of $175,000. Current plans are to re-roof the Pavilion with composite Brava “Spanish Barrel” tile roofing in antique clay color. Closely matching the original style of the Pavilion, the composite tiles will have all the beauty and warmth of traditional clay material, but with less weight and a significantly longer expected lifespan – on the order of up to up to 50 years.
Contact museum staff at 785-227-3595 or info@oldmillmuseum.org to learn more about how to donate under the program. Current progress can be seen at www.oldmillmuseum.org/raise-the-roof.
Get a Deal on a Tablet; Help Recover Grant Funds
The museum used grant funds to purchase several tablets to implement an augmented reality tour of the Old Mill, only to discover it was a slightly different build sold under the same model name – meaning they won’t work with the app. You can purchase one of these two remaining never-used tablets (plus protective case) at a discounted price of just $245 to help us recover grant funds. Contact us at oldmillmuseum@gmail.com.
Millfest Brings in Hundreds With Popular New Attractions in 2025
Between Millfest for Kids on May 2 and Millfest on May 3, more than 930 people came out to enjoy all the museum has to offer at its largest events of the year!
As usual, the main attraction was guided tours of the 1898 Smoky Valley Roller Mills as machinery was running. As the only historical mill of its kind in the Midwest that can still operate, the tours are a popular – and rare – annual attraction.
Along with the old, this year also brought several popular new attractions.
First was the addition of an antique tractor show, hosted by the International Harvester Collector Club (Kansas Chapter 3). Located on the circle drive in front of Heritage Square, it made a perfect bridge connecting the Millfest attractions on either side of Mill Street at the museum.
Next was bringing in “Just Face It” face painting out of Wichita with their unique and complex artistic designs. Face painting was free for all Millfest attendees during the afternoon, thanks to our generous event sponsors.
Finally we had a new addition to our music entertainment lineup with the Randy Baldwin Band out of Salina.
This was in addition to returning Millfest attractions: Swedish dancing, arts and crafts, great food, lawn games, and demonstrations.
It proved an overall successful day, bringing in about $12,000 after expenses.
We want to thank our major sponsors for their generous support of Millfest!
- Grain Craft – McPherson, Kansas
- Kansas Wheat – Manhattan, Kansas
- Radio Kansas – Hutchinson, Kansas
- CKA Consulting – Topeka, Kansas
- TACOL Thrift Shop – Lindsborg, Kansas
- Ardent Mills – Denver, Colorado
- Bank of Tescott – Lindsborg, Kansas
- CHS Refinery – McPherson, Kansas
- Dauer Welding and Machine – Lindsborg, Kansas
- Farmers State Bank – Lindsborg, Kansas
- Pestinger Heating and AC – Lindsborg, Kansas
- Plumer Landscaping and Lindsborg Greenhouse – Lindsborg, Kansas
- An anonymous donor
Museum Participating in 2025 Sunflower Summer Program
Spread the word! Kansas families with school-age kids can bring them to the museum for FREE with the Sunflower Summer app in 2025. Full details on the Kansas state program and links to download the app are at sunflowersummer.org.
Those using the program should note it is a more restricted program this year. First, the timeline is notably shorter – three weeks from July 12 through August 3.
Also, the program now pays for a single adult ticket to accompany children. Additional attending adults will need to pay for admission out-of-pocket.
We have been selected as a participating location!
From the Director’s Desk: Milestones Met!
Dear Museum Friends,
We are halfway through the year and have already marked off many milestones!
We have completed the SPRINT Grant, which allowed us to finish numerous projects. Now museum staff are applying for new grants and seeking more donors. Our 2025 Millfest went well, and we saw an increase in sponsorships.
I would also like to thank our tax credit donors. Thanks to your hundreds of thousands in donation dollars, we have completed the structural repairs on the Swedish Pavilion and are using the remaining tax credits to start fundraising for a new roof.
As we continue through 2025 be sure to look out for:
- 2025 Harvest of Giving Year-End Campaign (December)
- For Svensk Hyllningsfest, the museum will have a $5 admission special (Kids 0-5 free) on Saturday, October 18
- 2026 Millfest Sponsorship (Millfest is May 2, 2026)
- Heritage Christmas (Dec. 13)
Tack så mycket for your support!
Aubrey Wheeler,
Executive Director
$250K SPRINT Grant Wraps Up Successfully
In May, museum staff closed out the $250,000 SPRINT Grant from Kansas Commerce originally received in 2023. Looking back, the results were transformative—in terms of appearance, preservation, and necessary upgrades.
The museum was one of just 18 recipients to receive the tourism grant out of 228. The grant was an effort by the State to boost tourism with remaining federal COVID relief dollars.
The list of everything it accomplished at the museum is nothing short of astonishing. Achievements include:
- Installation of a new alarm system
- Main entrance improvements of an ADA sidewalk, solid handrail, and landscaping
- Exterior paint and a new roof for the Schoolhouse
- Exterior paint and a new roof for the Academy
- New exterior paint for the Train Depot
- Full restoration of the 1908 Dempster Windmill
- A new Old Mill courtyard metal fence designed and created by Lindsborg Local Lloyd Rohr that depicts scenes of the historical Old Mill, symbols of wheat and the Swedish seal, and the 1904 World’s Fair Swedish Pavilion
- Tree removal and trimming on the museum grounds and campgrounds
- Museum front porch repairs, including the support columns
- New guttering on the main museum building
- Tuckpointing of the Old Mill Powerhouse parapet walls, as well as roof and guttering for the building
- Upgrades to the Old Mill heating system
- A modern and fully reworked back gallery exhibition on Lindsborg history and the immigrant experience
If you haven’t visited lately, come by and see how this grant has improved the museum experience!
Staff Working to Close 2025 Funding ‘Gap’
Museum staff are currently working on a “Zap the Gap” campaign to ensure 2025 finishes out with a balanced budget.
Two factors have led to the current situation. First, the year-end fundraising campaign in 2024 was not as much as anticipated – about $10,000. In the two previous years, we raised almost $100,000 and $90,000 in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Second, McPherson County continued to reduce their contribution, this time from $75,000 last year to $25,000. The county has gone from providing nearly half the museum budget in 2022 to 9% in 2025.
Substantial progress has already been made on closing the gap; at the start of 2025 it was nearly $100K and 34%, but a $10,000 contribution and a $15,000 unrestricted grant have since come in.
Visit www.oldmillmuseum.org/donations or call 785-227-3595 for info on helping.
In April, the museum was excited to participate in the community-wide “Chalk the Välk” sidewalk chalk art event and competition in Lindsborg. We hired a youth artist to create work at the museum, and internationally famous artist David Zinn chose our grounds as one of the locations he created work during the event – a fuzzy little friend we dubbed “Milly.”