Inver Grove History is the work of high school sophomores in Simley High School teacher Tom Goetz's 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 AP U.S. History classes. Its goal is to tell some of the stories of the lands and people who inhabited modern-day Inver Grove Heights, as well as those who attended school in Independent School District 199.
Under the supervision of Tom Goetz and Cory Haala (Simley '09), their work is a digital archive that aims to, in perpetuity, preserve the history of Simley and Inver Grove in an accessible online format.
In 2024, ISD 199 received a Minnesota Legacy Grant to tell the 170-year history of public schools in present-day Inver Grove Heights. Newer artifacts and collections draw on those efforts, including a blog related to findings in ISD 199 possessions and a History Harvest hosted at Simley High School on August 12-14, 2024.
We invite you to explore the exhibits, collections, and individual artifacts compiled by students. Please see, as well, the detailed description of this project and our thanks to those who made it possible.
Lithograph of Medicine Bottle's villageAn American Indian village is depicted with wooden dwellings and people of various ages in the foreground.
Program titled "Dedication - Open House, Simley Junior-Senior High School"
Photograph of the former Salem Hills (District #3) A one-room schoolhouseA photograph of the former Salem Hills one-room schoolhouse after it had been turned into the Waldhauser family home.
Photograph of Salem Hills (District #3) one-room schoolhouse students, undated
Photograph of Salem Hills (District #3) schoolhouseA photograph of the Salem Hills one-room schoolhouse (District #3), built in 1861 and used through 1953, when the new Salem Hills Elementary School…
Old District 3 Schoolhouse Slowly Evolving Into HomeAn account of the former Salem Hills schoolhouse, District 3, being renovated into the family home of Kenneth and Margaret Waldhauser.