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It's been nearly a century since Charles Lindbergh completed the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, a daring feat that catapulted him into international fame.
Lindbergh spent much of his childhood in the central Minnesota town of Little Falls, where his family farmed and later spent idyllic summers on the Mississippi River.
But history buffs and curious visitors can no longer go inside the famous aviator's boyhood home, or a museum that explores his complicated life story.
In July, the Minnesota Historical Society announced it was laying off staff and changing operations at three sites, including the Charles Lindbergh House and Museum. Since Labor Day weekend, visitors have been able to follow a self-guided interpretive trail along the river, but the buildings are no longer open.
The closure was a disappointing blow to the Little Falls community, whose identity is intertwined with the famous aviator. The local elementary school and a state park bear the Lindbergh name. The high school’s sports teams are nicknamed the Flyers.
“There’s a lot of different reasons why it’s sad that it’s closed,” said Gabrielle Meyer, a Little Falls resident and author who previously worked at the house and museum.
A key reason is “the fact that this is a home of a man who became one of the first superstars, really – international heroes,” Meyer said. “And he was just a farm boy from Little Falls, Minnesota.”
City officials say the Lindbergh site is also a tourist draw that boosts the local economy, attracting history buffs and aviation enthusiasts from all over the globe.
“It's kind of a legacy for our community that Lindbergh had lived here,” said Little Falls Mayor Greg Zylka. “We continue to work diligently on trying to find a way to keep it open and keep that legacy alive.”
Community members have been brainstorming ideas to keep the historic buildings open. They say the timing of the closure couldn’t be worse. Little Falls already is gearing up to celebrate the centennial of Lindbergh's New York-to-Paris flight in 2027, with events at the house and museum.
"Our commemoration was really looking at what did this community bring to a young Charles Lindbergh that made him feel he could do the most daring thing that anybody could imagine?” said Susy Prosapio, a Little Falls business owner and president of the nonprofit Friends of the Lindbergh Heritage.
Prosapio said the museum plays a key role in explaining Lindbergh's controversial legacy, including his racist and antisemitic views and support for American isolationism.
With the museum closed, Prosapio worries visitors who come for the anniversary celebration won’t get the full picture of the flawed American hero, and how he navigated the pressures of fame and complex world events.
“I don’t know that as our centennial committee, we could do justice to that complicated man,” she said.
Lindbergh was born in Detroit, Mich., but came to Little Falls as an infant, to a home his parents had built on a 110-acre farm outside of town. Lindbergh’s father was a prominent local lawyer, and later served in Congress.
After the home was destroyed by fire in 1905, the Lindberghs built a new smaller house on the same site, where they spent summers. As a boy, Charles spent his time playing in the woods along the Mississippi River, where he caught his first glimpse of an airplane flying overhead.
Meyer said the house looks very similar to how it did when Lindbergh lived there. It contains original artifacts donated by the family, including a piano.
“It's like a time capsule from 1917,” she said.
The museum, located near the house, opened in 1973. Lindbergh himself spoke at the dedication ceremony about a year before his death. It featured a theater, a flight simulator and replica of his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis. The museum had recently added a new exhibit on the 1932 kidnapping of the Lindberghs’ infant son.
The Minnesota Historical Society says it made the operational changes to balance a budget deficit caused by changing visitor patterns and revenue not keeping pace with rising expenses.
The Lindbergh House and Museum was one of three sites affected, along with Historic Forestville in Preston and the Snake River Fur Post in Pine City.
The number of visitors at the Lindbergh House and Museum in the last fiscal year was about 3,700, less than half of pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, spokesperson Allison Ortiz wrote in an email.
Since reopening after the pandemic, the Little Falls site has been open just Fridays and Saturdays. Ortiz said based on historical attendance, the site still would not have reached pre-pandemic levels even if it was open four days a week.
The historical society is “committed to protecting, preserving and interpreting” the state’s historic sites, including the Lindbergh House, Ortiz said. She said the society plans to continue virtual tours of the Lindbergh House.
Some artifacts, including a flight cap and radio headset worn by Lindbergh, have been moved to the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul for preservation.
Ortiz said the historical society would be open to exploring a partnership with the Little Falls community to operate the Lindbergh site. Local groups already operate several other state historic sites, including the Sibley House in Mendota, the Comstock House in Moorhead and the Folsom House in Taylors Falls.
Little Falls residents hope a nonprofit group with financial means and community support will step up to reopen the Lindbergh house and museum, at least for special occasions.
“Our goal is to work with the Minnesota Historical Society and see if we can't bring this treasure back,” Prosapio said.
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