
The Minnesota History Center is currently featuring an exhibit they created about Sherlock Holmes and the beginnings of forensic science running through April 2, 2023.
But the first question to ask is ‘why in Minnesota?’ It’s because the largest collection of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle items in the world is buried in the enormous vault of rare books 3 stories below the Elmer Anderson library at the University of Minnesota!
But again, why in this vault 80 feet underground? The advantage of being underground is you don’t get the seasonal transitions. It is calibrated to precisely 63 degrees and 45 percent relative humidity year-round. It’s the wild fluctuations, from fall to winter and from winter to spring, that damage the books.
Want to know why this collection ended up in this underground storage vault in Minnesota? Read about it in this article from Mpls St Paul magazine/website… Minnesota Has the World’s Largest Sherlock Holmes Collection

The exhibit itself is fascinating, and includes some rare artifacts. When you arrive you are given a notebook to collect clues and help solve a crime.
The video linked below from KABI Treks walks you through the exhibit.

Sherlock Holmes: The Exhibition continues at the Minnesota History Center through April 2, 2023.
The Twin Cities even has its own Sherlock Holmes mystery writer… Larry Millett. He has written many books about Minnesota architecture, but has also written a series featuring Sherlock Holmes in Minnesota… one very timely, taking place during the St. Paul Winter Carnival in 1896, Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders.
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – shensrud@homesmsp.com