GET INVOLVED
Help Make the Nelson Pioneer Farm & Museum the best it can be!
Become a Member
The Mahaska County Historical Society is a member-driven organization. Members engage with our governing process by electing our Board of Directors and approving our operating budget annually. They are vital to our success and highly-valued for their passion, ideas, and commitment to the MCHS.
Member benefits include:
- Free, unlimited admission to Nelson Pioneer Farm during regular hours
- Early registration to special events and programs
- Special members-only admission rates to events and programs
- Quarterly newsletters
- 10% discount at our museum gift shop
- 10% discount on rental fee for Bradbury Hall (excludes security deposit and other fees)
A membership fellowship meeting and potluck dinner is held quarterly on the third Monday evening of the months of February, May, August, and November.
- $12 for Individuals
- $20 for Family/Grandparent
- $250 Lifetime Membership
Membership definitions
Individual memberships include a single person.
Family memberships cover couples and include all minor children living in the home. Grandparent memberships cover couples and any visiting grandchildren under 18 years of age accompanying the grandparent.
A lifetime family membership includes the married couple for both person’s lifetime, and any minor children either born or adopted to that family or minor grandchildren accompanying the membership holder.
Volunteer
Volunteers are the heart and soul of the MCHS. They repair and use our education and demonstration collections, lead school programs, maintain our historic buildings and property, and share their unique skills to keep history alive for our visitors.
Do you have an interest in working with us? Contact Margaret at 641-672-2989 or curator@nelsonpioneer.org for more information!
Become a Donor
Each year, generous donors contribute to the daily operations of the MCHS. These donations support exhibit development, public programming, artifact care, historic preservation, and other needs for the MCHS.
Mahaska County Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and donations to MCHS are tax deductible to the extend of the IRS tax code.
Special projects
Coal Creek Friends Meeting House Foundation
The Coal Creek Friends Meeting House arrived at the Nelson Pioneer Farm in 1984, when it was moved from its original location 4 miles northwest of What Cheer. The current foundation is the original one laid here at the site to prepare for the building’s arrival. Thirty-five years of water pressure with massive fluctuation of temperatures under the building has taken its toll.
The work will require jacking up the entire building, removing any unsound footings and the old walls, assessing the foundation piers beneath the building while it is lifted, and pouring a solid wall foundation around the perimeter.
This building is the only religious structure we have at the Nelson Pioneer Farm. Each semester William Penn University students visit the building during their Quaker Values class and it is used in other programming throughout the year as well. Mahaska County and our surrounding counties have a rich Quaker heritage, and this repair is essential in preserving it.