Sister Alfreda Award presented IHC and Idaho State Historical Society (ISHS) are thrilled to award the 2024 Sister Alfreda Elsensohn award to the Hagerman Valley Historical Society. The Sister Alfreda Elsensohn Award is a joint award by the IHC and ISHS. The award is given to a museum, interpretive association, or historical society in Idaho to acknowledge excellent work in the field of historical interpretation, display, and preservation. We do not take applications or nominations for the award. The award is named for Sister Alfreda Elsensohn, who founded the Historical Museum at St. Gertrude Monastery in Cottonwood. Sister Alfreda, one of Idaho’s outstanding historians, sought to collect, preserve, and interpret artifacts from Idaho County and the surrounding area to better educate the public. She often said, “A museum is a bridge which links the present with the past.” This is the highest museum award you can get in Idaho. It comes with a $10,000 check. Since 2008, the award has been given to the following museums: 2008: Bonner County Museum (Sandpoint) 2009: South Bannock County Historical Museum (Lava Hot Springs) 2010: Museum at St. Gertrude Monastery (Cottonwood) 2011: Lemhi County Historical Museum (Salmon) 2012: Basque Museum and Cultural Center (Boise) 2013: Wallace District Mining Museum (Wallace) 2014: Sawtooth Interpretive Association (Stanley) 2015: Latah County Historical Society (Moscow) 2016: Idaho City Historical Foundation (Idaho City) 2017: Owyhee County Historical Museum (Murphy) 2018: South Custer County Historical Society/Lost River Museum (Mackay) 2019: The White Spring Ranch Museum/Archive Library (Genesee) 2020: Idaho Black History Museum (Boise) 2021: Museum of North Idaho (Coeur d'Alene) 2022: Potlatch Historical Society (Potlatch) 2023: Museum of Idaho (Idaho Falls)  Sister Alfreda Elsensohn, for whom the highest award an Idaho museum can receive is named. |
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