ST PETER — When Eileen Holz and her mother, Eunice, put together a central exhibit for the Nicollet County Treaty Site History Center more than a decade ago, it was meant to be temporary.

Then the funding, which covered construction of the building in 1993, ran dry. So the display depicting the signing of the 1851 treaty between the Dakota and U.S. Government at the Traverse de Sioux site lasted longer than planned.

That’s changed now with a new round of funding, and Holz doesn’t mind. That’s because the once drab room that surrounded the old display has been improved.

There’s a new suspended ceiling above, and the walls, which have been painted warm inviting colors, are covered with informative displays sharing Nicollet County’s history. Holz, who owns eholz graphix, was hired to create many of those displays using maps, pictures and written descriptions about the county’s past.

All of the improvements were paid for with $75,000 in state funding and $55,000 in private funds the History Center has received since last fall.

“What’s in there now does a much better job presenting the history of Nicollet County,” Holz said. “I’m hoping people like it. I hope it’s a very educational collection of work.”

The Nicollet County Historical Society is hoping to have all of the History Center’s improvements in place by this weekend. There were only two major displays left to add to the center last week: blown up images of sketches penned by Frank Mayer during the signing of the treaty in 1851 and a 14-foot by 4-foot Nicollet County timeline.

Those items should be in place Thursday when the Historical Society hosts a private showing for its 250 members. The public is always welcome during the facility’s regular hours Tuesday through Sunday.

“It should be a good experience on many levels for people coming through,” said LaVonne Craig, Historical Society president. “The center portion of the display mostly deals with the treaty, which was an important thing that opened much of Minnesota up for settlers. Of course, it also laid the groundwork for the conflict that followed.”

Traverse de Sioux was a location along the Minnesota River that Native Americans used as a crossing point for centuries. A white settlement that grew there between 1852 and 1869, after the treaty was signed nearby in 1851, disappeared as St. Peter grew to the south.

The old crossing point and a boat landing are among many things marked on trails adjacent to the History Center.

Inside, stories about the historic area, and Nicollet County as a whole, are told both through the eyes of Native Americans and the white settlers who came later.

In one room, visitors can watch a public television documentary about the treaty signing and soak in an 1870 map of St. Peter that includes more recent pictures of historical buildings. Some of those buildings still exist.

Highlights of the central exhibit include a tractor with wheels that show the seasonal roles men and women had on pioneer farms, a large replica of the Norseland Store and a display of Native American artifacts.

Kids can climb on the tractor or sit on a blanket nearby and pretend to have a picnic with Edith, Carolyn and John Johnson, early Nicollet County farmers pictured in a display including a basket full of plastic food.

There’s also a large map that shows all the county’s rural land owners in 1927 so visitors can spend some time pinpointing places where their relatives lived. For a $10 fee, people also can add their own Nicollet County pictures to one of 144 framed slots hanging on another wall.

An exhibit in one corner of the main room includes a Native American history about the treaty and the conflict that followed. Those stories were written by Dakota elders.

A third room will have a display for each of the county’s 13 townships. Items are still being collected for those displays, which will change periodically as more items become available.

“We’re looking forward to people coming in and seeing how the exhibits have changed,” said Jessica Brockberg, the museum’s office manager. “I don’t think people realize what an impact the treaty signing had on our lives and the lives of the Dakota people, but they will after going through here.”