Bell Museum of Natural History records

On May 1, 1872, “An Act to provide for a Geological and Natural History Survey of the State and entrust the same to the University of Minnesota” was passed by the Minnesota state legislature. The law assigned to the Board of Regents the responsibility of conducting a survey of the geological, botanical, and zoological resources of the state and included a provision to collect and prepare specimens “to be preserved for public inspection… in charge of a proper scientific curator.”(1)

Newton Horace Winchell was employed as State Geologist and director of the Survey,(2) and was subsequently appointed Professor of Geology, and Curator of the Museum.(3) After the completion of an addition to the University Main building in 1875, the General Museum opened to the public.(4)

In 1888, the Regents established the role of State Zoologist and appointed Henry Francis Nachtrieb, Professor of Animal Biology, to oversee the zoological investigations of the Survey.(5) Conway MacMillan was hired to oversee instruction in Botany, and in 1890, was promoted to Assistant Professor and soon after was appointed State Botanist to direct the botanical Survey.(6) In 1889, the offices of the Survey and related academic departments, along with the museum collections, were removed from the Main building and established in the newly constructed Science Hall, later named Pillsbury Hall.(7)

In 1901, following the submission of the final reports of the geological portion of the Survey and the termination of Winchell’s services associated with it, the Regents acted to establish parameters for the conclusion of the work of the botanical and zoological divisions. The State Botanist and State Zoologist were instructed to complete the remaining investigations and publish applicable reports under a maximum allowance for each division.(8) Responsibility for the zoological specimens accumulated through the prosecution of Survey work and displayed in the Zoological Museum was continued by Nachtrieb in his role as head of the Department of Animal Biology; care of the botanical specimens, cataloged in the University Herbarium, was continued under the administration of the Department of Botany.

In 1915, Thomas Sadler Roberts was appointed Professor of Ornithology and Associate Curator of the Zoological Museum.(9) In 1916, museum collections and exhibits were removed from Pillsbury Hall and established in the newly constructed Animal Biology building.(10)

In 1919, the Zoological Museum was separated from the Department of Animal Biology and established as an independent unit of the University; Roberts was appointed Director.(11) In 1928, the Zoological Museum became the Museum of Natural History in title, (12) and in 1939 was renamed the Minnesota Museum of Natural History.(13)

In 1940, the museum moved from quarters in the Animal Biology building into a new building on the corner of Church St. and University Ave., built with funding from the Public Works Administration and a matching donation from museum benefactor James Ford Bell.(14)

In 1966, the museum was placed administratively within the College of Biological Sciences. In December 1966, the Regents approved an honorary name designation, and in May of 1967, the museum was dedicated as the James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History.(15) In 1971, construction was completed on a new wing to the museum which afforded additional space for exhibitions, collections, and laboratories.(16)

In 1993, museum curators and the ornithology, mammalogy, herpetology, ichthyology, and invertebrate collections moved to the Ecology Building on the St. Paul campus.(17) Subsequent reorganizations in the science disciplines placed the museum under the administration of the College of Natural Resources (1995) and the College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences (2006).

In 2017, the Church St. museum facility closed. Staff offices and exhibits were moved to a new facility on the University’s St. Paul campus. The Bell Museum reopened at that location in July of 2018.(18)

References:

(1) Chapter 30 of the General Laws of the State of Minnesota, 1872
(2) Minutes: Board of Regents Meeting and Committee Meetings 1869-1887, July 16, 1872, pg. 64
(3) Minutes: Board of Regents Meeting and Committee Meetings 1869-1887, April 4, 1873 and April 10, 1873, pg. 83. The first “Report of the Curator of the Museum” can be found in the Annual Report of the Board of Regents for 1873 (PDF pgs. 67- 69)
(4) Reports on the General Museum are included in the Annual and Biennial Reports of the University
(5) Board of Regents Minutes, 1888-1905: June 4, 1888, pg. 329; November 20, 1988, pg. 333.
(6) Board of Regents Minutes, 1888-1905: September 16, 1890, pg. 364; December 2, 1890, pg. 365.
(7) University President Cyrus Northrop provides a report on the facilities of the Science Hall (Pillsbury Hall) in the Biennial Report of the Board of Regents 1889-1990 (PDF pgs. 19-22).
(8) Minutes: Board of Regents Meetings: 1900-1906, December 10, 1901 (PDF pgs. 78-79).
(9) Board of Regents Minutes, May 6, 1915 (PDF pg. 3).
(10) Thomas Sadler Roberts reported on the status of the Zoological Museum at this point of transition in the Report of the Zoological Survey and Museum for 1916-1917: The President’s Report, 1916-1917 (PDF pgs. 156-163).
(11) University of Minnesota Budgets, 1919-1920 (PDF pg. 37).
(12) Board of Regents Meeting Minutes, January 6, 1928 (PDF pg. 7).
(13) Board of Regents Meeting Minutes, September 30, 1939 (PDF pg. 6).
(14) Report of the Minnesota Museum of Natural History, submitted by Thomas Sadler Roberts, Director, The Biennial Report of the President, 1938-1940 (PDF pgs. 399-400). See also, “The New Museum of Natural History,” The Minnesota Alumni Weekly, June 3, 1939 (PDF pg. 89).
(15) Honorary building title approved by the Regents upon the request of the Committee on University Honors and recommendation of the President, Board of Regents Meeting Minutes, December 9, 1966 (PDF pg. 41). A dedication ceremony was held on May 19, 1967 at the museum. See “Natural History Museum Will Be Renamed For James Ford Bell,”Press Releases April - May, 1967 (PDF pgs. 136-137).
(16) Grant received for construction from the National Science Foundation in 1962: “NSF Gives $50,000 Toward Building ‘U’ Museum Wing,” Press Releases, May - September 1962 (PDF pgs. 232-234); groundbreaking held in 1964: “Ground Will Be Broken Thursday for Bell Memorial Wing of Museum,” Press Releases, July - December 1964 (PDF pgs. 40-41 ); opened in May 1971: “Nature Art Exhibit to Celebrate Opening of Bell Museum Wing,” Press Releases, April - June 1971 (PDF pgs. 49-50).
(17) Groundbreaking held in June, 1991: “Ecology Building at U of Minnesota A First,”Press Releases 1991 (PDF pg. 66).
(18) “The Bell Comes Alive,” Minnesota Alumni, Summer 2018, Vol. 117 No. 4 (PDF pgs. 18-30). Multiple articles describe the design, construction, and move to the new facility.

• General Museum
• Zoological Museum
• Museum of Natural History (1928-1938)
• Minnesota Museum of Natural History (1938-1967)
• James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History (1967-2017)
• Bell Museum (2018 - present)

• University Main Building (later referred to as Old Main) (1872-1889)
• Pillsbury Hall (formerly Science Hall), Minneapolis Campus (1889-1916)
• Zoology Building (formerly Animal Biology), Washington Ave., Minneapolis Campus (1916-1939)
• James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History, Church St., Minneapolis Campus (1939-2017)
• Ecology Building, Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul Campus (1993 - present)
• Bell Museum, Larpenteur Avenue, St. Paul Campus (2017 - present)

• Newton Horace Winchell (1872-1889)
• Henry Francis Nachtrieb (1889-1919)
• Thomas Sadler Roberts (1919-1946)
• Walter J. Breckenridge (1946-1969)
• Harrison Tordoff (1970-1983)
• Donald Gilbertson (1983-1990)
• Elmer Birney (1990-1992)
• Kendall Corbin (1993-1994)
• Scott Lanyon (1995-2008)
• Susan Weller (2008-2015)
• Denise Young (2016 - present)