It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

[2] The building was originally built by the St. Paul and Duluth Railroad, which was acquired by the Northern Pacific Railway in 1900.

The building had separate men's and women's waiting rooms, a freight room, a restaurant known as the "Beanery", and a stationmaster's living quarters on the second floor.

The museum interprets the history of the fire that destroyed six towns and burned over 400 square miles (1,000 km2).

It also explains how the town was rebuilt and how the area shifted to agricultural use after the lumbering era ended.