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Tucked away on Fifth Street is a museum with Smithsonian distinctions: the Northwest Territory Historic Center.

Glancing at the outside, someone might mistake it for a school. At one time it was and for several years a young Ronald Reagan attended class here. 

However, in the late 1970s the school was closed.

“The building was going to be torn down,” said David Latta, manager of the museum. “It was in pretty bad shape.” 

Until Norm Wymbs, a man from Florida, stepped in.  

“He was personal friends with Ronald Reagan and he bought it and invested $25 million in this building … It’s quite a showplace now,” Latta said. “He wanted to turn it into a center — something for the kids to enjoy.” 

Now groups of young students fill the old classrooms during the school year. 

“It brings a joy to you,” Latta said. “That was his dream to have it for the kids. Pretty much 99 percent of the kids that come in here are astounded by some of the things they see about the Black Hawk Wars.” 

Latta has worked at the center for 14 years and the Black Hawk exhibit is still is favorite, but he said a highlight on the tour is always stopping by Reagan’s old classroom. 

“The teachers will bring them in and they sit down in the seats and they think it’s just really something that they’re sitting where a president sat,” he said. “It’s pretty nice to see the smiles on their faces.” 

In a time when people can be quick to forget the past, Latta said the Northwest Territory Historic Center reminds people to stop and look back.

“So many of these places that get torn down and you know they’re never thought of again and it’s history,” he said. “This is saving history right here.” 

The Northwest Territory Center is open Tuesday-Saturday from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. For more information click here. 

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