Company Profile
Vesterheim Museum
Company Overview
Vesterheim, the national Norwegian-American museum and heritage center, located in Decorah Iowa, is the oldest and most comprehensive museum in the United States dedicated to a single ethnic group. The museum cares for over 24,000 objects, among which are some of the most outstanding examples of decorative and folk art to be seen in this country. Our mission is to preserve and promote living traditions through exhibitions, educational programs, folk art classes, events, and tours to Norway. It is estimated that the museum's 15,000 visitors per year from 50 states and 35 foreign countries have an economic impact of $5 million to the Decorah area. Strategic priorities are to improve access to non-exhibited collections; expand Vesterheim’s traveling exhibition program, including an exhibit that can travel to schools and libraries; and to plan and implement campaigns to strengthen financial resources to grow the museum’s endowment and meet long range goals. Vesterheim is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The museum received Trip Advisor’s Certificate of Excellence and was named one of "15 Best Small-Town Museums in the U.S." by Fodors travel guide. Forbes named Decorah one of "America's Prettiest Towns" with Vesterheim prominently displayed. Decorah was also named by Smithsonian Magazine as one of 20 great small towns to visit with Vesterheim featured as a major reason to visit.
Company History
Vesterheim, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2002, is the oldest and most comprehensive museum in the United States dedicated to a single ethnic group. Its name, which means western home, is a term that was used poetically by Norwegian immigrants to refer to their new home in the Western Hemisphere. Vesterheim began as the Luther College Museum in 1877. By 1895, one of its stated purposes was to collect and display Norwegian immigrant materials. The museum acquired semi-independence in 1925 as the Norwegian-American Historical Museum. In 1932, the bulk of the collection was moved from the Luther College campus to a building in downtown Decorah, which is still the principal exhibition building. In 1964, an autonomous museum corporation was founded to assume responsibility for the college’s collection of about 7,000 items. Vesterheim acquired complete ownership of that collection in 1990. Since 1964, the collection has grown to 24,000 objects, including thirteen buildings which have been acquired and renovated as exhibition, storage, service, and office space within the museum block in downtown Decorah
Notable Accomplishments / Recognition
“USA Today” named Vesterheim one of “ten great places in the nation to admire American folk art.” Vesterheim was among the first museums to be accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM—now the American Alliance of Museums) in 1971 and has been reaccredited three times, most recently in 2010. In April 2014, Vesterheim was selected as Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area’s People’s Choice for “Site of the Year.” And twenty-one Vesterheim artifacts are on display at Disney’s Epcot Center at The Norway Pavilion in conjunction with the animated hit movie, “Frozen.”