In February 2013, the Cook County Historical Society approached the Cook County commissioners with an interesting idea. The historical society asked the county to partner on a grant application to obtain funds to purchase and preserve the Bally’s Blacksmith Shop property in downtown Grand Marais. After some legal wrangling, the county agreed and the grant was applied for. Museum Director Carrie McHugh was delighted to announce on May 14 that Cook County would be a recipient of an Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund Partnership Grant through the Minnesota Historical Society.
McHugh said this is “a wonderful opportunity to preserve one of the most recognizable and historically significant places in Grand Marais.”
McHugh noted, “Though there is much work to do before`hand, future plans include using the property as an interpretive site featuring the blacksmith tradition and the industries it supported.”
The site’s original building was erected in 1911 and served three generations of Ballys. Billy Bally, who passed away in 2010, worked to have the building placed on the National Register of Historic Place in 1986.
The heirs of the late Bill Bally’s wife Karen’s estate had offered to sell the property to the Cook County Historical Society for $130,000, below the appraised value of $148,000 and the taxable value of $143,200.
The grant request was for $170,000, which would cover additional funds to “stabilize” the property, according to historical society President Gene Erickson. The amount to be granted is the purchase price of $130,000, so McHugh said there will be some fundraising efforts.
Cook County will own the Bally Blacksmith Shop property and the Cook County Historical Society will maintain and manage it. The partnership between the county and the historical society is a continuation of what has been in place since 1966 when the historical society began managing the county’s Lighthouse Keeper’s Residence Museum property on Broadway Avenue.
In addition to county board support, the historical society asked for—and received—letters of support from community members. At the beginning of April, McHugh posted a notice, asking people to send letters of support for the preservation of the Bally’s Blacksmith Shop. McHugh was stunned at the overwhelming response—over 500 people from Cook County and beyond responded, asking that the historic property be maintained.
“Once we are past this big hurdle, there will be much opportunity for volunteering, sharing stories, and other contributions to make the site a wonderful historic asset for our community,” said McHugh.
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