The Ramsey County Historical Society seeks to preserve and share the history of St. Paul and Ramsey County, MN. To this end, the society operates the Gibbs Museum of Pioneer and Dakotah Life. The Gibbs Museum consists of the 1854 home of pioneers Herman and Jane Gibbs, a replica of their earlier c. 1849 sod home, their 1910 barn, a later barn, an 1880s schoolhouse, Dakotah style tipi, a replica Dakotah bark lodge, prairie, an orchard, Dakotah and pioneer crops, and a Dakotah medicine garden. Jane Gibbs was raised near the Dakotah, learning their language as a child; and she and the local Dakotah maintained a friendship throughout her life. Other exhibits and a research center are located at the society's headquarters.
The society offers period rooms, exhibits, tours led by costumed interpreters, group tours, gardens, farm animals, summer camps, lectures, research center access, and picnic tables. Reservations are required for group tours, and picnic tables are available with advance notice. Group tours focus on pioneer or Dakotah life, although tours can be given other areas of emphasis upon request. Students as young as preschoolers are welcome. The research center is open by appointment only.