The Mead Museum is the official home of the Dakota Territorial Museum and the Yankton County Historical Society as well as Yankton College. Its exhibits highlight the history of the Dakota Territory, Yankton County, and the Missouri River Valley.

The Mead Museum features three floors of indoor exhibits to explore, plus an outdoor heritage park.

Major indoor features include the interactive Children's Transportation Museum, the Yankton College galleries (located on the 3rd floor), and the Journeying Forward: Connecting Cultures exhibit. The museum also showcases a rare, 4-inch Jefferson Peace Medal from the Lewis & Clark expedition. Plus an exhibit on the history of the Yankton State Hospital (Minds, Methods, and Medicine). The new A Dakota Story, will open in October 2026 and feature 12 galleries of the first 100 years of Yankton’s history.

The outdoor park is ever-evolving and currently includes the preserved, walk-through and interactive historical 1906 Gunderson one-room schoolhouse.