Brown County Research Librarian Darla Gebhard conducts a virtual tour of the New Ulm Cemetery’s pioneer section.

NEW ULM — This past weekend was traditionally the time each year the Brown County Historical Society would commemorate the U.S./Dakota War of 1862, but the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the commemoration online.

Saturday, the Brown County Historical Society (BCHS) launched two virtual tours on their website. The two virtual tours are a video version of the live tours traditionally hosted by BCHS at the City Cemetery and downtown New Ulm.

BCHS Executive Director Kathleen Backer said the BCHS was looking for ways to do programming during COVID. Many projects and presentations were delayed or canceled as a result of the pandemic, but the anniversary of the 1862 war was considered too important to skip.

“We didn’t want to miss the chance to commemorate the 1862 war,” Backer said. “Often when going forward we can forget the past but this was a real event. Lives were lost and changed. Brown County changed forever.”

Backer said in July the BCHS considered moving forward with live tours at the cemetery and downtown, but by August it became clear this was not possible.

“Six-foot distancing at the cemetery and downtown is not realistic when people are trying to hear a speaker,” Backer said.

Instead, BCHS decided to go with a video tour. Regular tour volunteers Darla Gebhard and Terry Sveine were recorded last week giving the traditional tour, by Foresee Studios. The filming and release of these videos occurred within two weeks, and Backer is pleased with the results.

The first video is a tour of the Pioneer Section of the City Cemetery given by Gebhard. This cemetery is as old as the city and Gebhard highlights some of the historic gravesites associated with the two battles of New Ulm. Many of those buried in the pioneer section were victims of the U.S./Dakota war. This shows the resting places of those impacted by the war. Gebhard provides historical background on their lives and deaths.

Gebhard tells a story about unmarked graves located in 2012. In 2013, the Junior Pioneers marked the graves.

“I found this to be one of the most fulfilling things I’ve done in the history field,” she said. “I think it is extremely important to remember history.”

The second virtual tour is a walking tour of downtown with Sveine. He gives background on the step-by-step progress of the two Battles in New Ulm from the actual site of the fighting. In the video, Sveine describes the two battles as the largest White/Native American battles in history with a significant impact on the history of Minnesota.

“By many standards, this is the biggest deal that will ever happen in Southern Minnesota, if not all the state of Minnesota.”

He closes the video by saying that as a child growing up in New Ulm, he was not taught this history even though it happened in his backyard. Sveine was pleased to say this history has been taught to New Ulm students for at least the last 35 years.

Going forward, Backer said hosting videos on the BCHS site is a new option for exhibits. BCHS will continue creating physical displays at the museum, but could release additional virtual content. Backer said there was a plan for a physical display on baseball, but this exhibit will likely transition into a virtual display. Shorter videos on artifacts and other historic moments could be featured on the BCHS website regularly, but Backer said this was still in the planning phase.

The two virtual tours on the U.S./Dakota war will available on the BCHS website for a limited time. Backer said by limiting the time of the videos can be viewed, the BCHS hopes to make the tour more of a special event. The virtual tours will remain on the website through Sept. 20.