GET INVOLVED
Help Make the Nelson Pioneer Farm & Museum the best it can be!
Become a Member | Become a Board Member | Volunteer | Donate | Special Projects
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
- Digital 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.
- $15 for Individuals
- $25 for Couple/Family/Grandparent
- $250 Lifetime Membership
We now offer organizational memberships! Organizational supporters receive:
- Digital quarterly newsletters
- Acknowledgement with your organization's logo at the Admission desk
Representatives are welcome to join the quarterly potlucks and meetings!
- $30 Nonprofit Organization
- $50 Business
Membership definitions
Individual memberships include a single person.
Family memberships cover couples as well as families with 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 a 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.
We are always interested in finding volunteers to process and research our historic artifacts. Interested in working with historic items? Please enter your contact information and areas of interest using the button below and we'll get in touch!
Board of Directors
Our organization is guided by a volunteer Board of Directors. There are 15 people serving on the Board at any given time. The nominating committee reviews applications of interested leaders as Director's terms expire. Interested in long-range planning? Have a passion for keeping local history alive? The committee would love to get in touch with you. Please fill out the application below.
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 extent of the IRS tax code.
You may also donate historic artifacts to the MCHS. We actively collect items made in or connected to Mahaska County and its residents. We have an artifacts committee that determines if an artifact meets our mission. If you have an item you would like to donate, please send a picture and as many details as you have to our Collections Manager at collections@nelsonpioneer.org or call 641-672-2989.