Surgery on the Kitchen Table? Uncover the Unique History of Todd County

A visit to the Christie House Museum and the Todd County Museum & Historical Society makes you feel as though you’ve quite literally taken a step back in time.

Both sister attractions, located only a few blocks apart, offer a fascinating deep dive into our region’s vibrant past.

Each showcases a carefully curated collection of artifacts, ephemera, genealogy records, and more; a time capsule that serves as a living history lesson.

Not to mention, a new way to think about “working from home.” 

The Christie House Museum

Legend has it that when Dr. George Christie built his three-story, 11 room Queen Anne home at 15 First Street South, the kitchen table was occasionally set with scalpels and bone saws, not silverware.

“He would have performed surgery on the kitchen table prior to 1917 when the first hospital opened in Long Prairie,” said Lorna Hunter.

The doctor, who was the first licensed physician in Todd County, also used the library as his examining room, with patients routinely waiting in the foyer.

Thanks to the family’s tendency not to throw anything away, they left one of the most well-preserved and complete time capsules in Minnesota. Both the building and all its furnishings are 100% original and contain a few unusual medical tools that tend to stop visitors in their tracks, including:

“The size of the needle that Dr. Bob used to give shots and the forceps found inside a copper boiler in the bottom of the doctor's bag in the library, which were used for delivering babies,” said Reta Dahlen, Lead Tour Guide.

Then there’s that photo of the dissecting room at Rush Medical College in Chicago.

“That’s unusual because it looks like the room might be on the top floor of some old Victorian building,” she added. “Each table has a cadaver covered with a sheet. Keep in mind there was no such thing as air conditioning in the 1880's when Dr. George was a student there. Practicing surgery would have been necessary at medical school, but the place could not have been very inviting.”

The museum recently uncovered a historic, 1911 postcard and old newspaper details about the doctors, shedding some new insights into daily life in the house.

“The postcard shows a view of the Christie house and family that we had not seen before,” said Hunter. “Dr. George and his second wife Ida were married on June 24, 1911 in Chicago. This photo was probably taken shortly after her arrival in Long Prairie. Imagine the culture shock!”

The home was originally built with water pipes, a flush toilet, and bathtub, despite no running water in Long Prairie at the time. Water had to be carried up to the second floor and poured into the tub in order for it to be usable.

In the 1970s, the beautiful home and its gorgeous collection of stained glass windows, was donated to the City of Long Prairie by the Christie family on the condition it be maintained as a museum and open to the public. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Guided tours of the Christie House are available by appointment only and can be booked online or by calling/texting 320-491-5033 or 612-267-0290. 

Todd County Museum & Historical Society 

Back in 1848, the current site of the Todd County Museum & Historical Society at 333 Central Avenue was part of the Winnebago Agency, a reservation housing more than 2,100 Ho-Chunk people on nearly 900,000 acres.

By 1849, it had morphed into a busy outpost with agency headquarters and the village at Long Prairie swelling to a population that outpaced Duluth and included a school, warehouses, convent, stores, and a church among its 150-plus structures.

Today, the Todd County Museum serves as a deep well for research and learning center for anyone interested in the past, boasting an impressive archive of local genealogy, vibrant community displays, and a one-room schoolhouse exhibit.

Tucked on the shelves of the museum gift shop you’ll find a variety of local goods, including bottles of maple syrup from the Kroll family, and books about Todd County penned by local authors.

Museum hours are Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Tours are available by appointment.