Did you know you can get into the Freeborn County Historical Museum for free with a paid admission to the Freeborn County Fair this week?

The museum, right next to the main fair entrance on Bridge Avenue, offers a wealth of information about our community’s history.

Built in 1965, it was added onto in 1980 and 2013.

It has information about home-grown celebrities like Eddie Cochran and Marion Ross, businesses and community leaders of the past, Col. Albert Lea, the old Albert Lea High School — you name it, there’s probably information on it at the museum.

The library includes documents such as newspapers, cemetery records, census records and church records.

Outside the museum is the historical village, which features 18 buildings, including a schoolhouse, church, barbershop, train depot and general store, among others.

The museum attracts patrons from all over the city, county and nation, and it is a tremendous asset to our community.

We encourage people to take advantage of the opportunity to check it out this week.

The museum will be open special hours — from 1 to 7 p.m. from Wednesday through Saturday.

Whether you grew up in Freeborn County or somewhere else, let’s learn from our history as we move into the future.