Evelyn Payne Hatcher Museum of Anthropology

The St. Cloud Museum of Man was incorporated in 1973 as a non-profit corporation under the laws of the State of Minnesota. Although the museum was located on the campus of St. Cloud State University, the museum was legally and financially separate from the school. The Articles of Incorporation stated that the purpose of the museum was for scientific, educational, and archival purposes, including study, research, teaching, instruction, and the preservation of all aspects of culture.

The name of the museum was changed from the St. Cloud Museum of Man to the Evelyn Payne Hatcher Museum of Anthropology in 1979.

Evelyn Payne Hatcher was one of the founders of the museum. According to her obituary, her parents were renowned early 20th century painters whose impressionistic works focused on tribal people, culture, symbols, and landscapes of the American West and Southwest. Hatcher made it her mission to make sure that their legacy lived on.

The museum worked closely with the anthropology department on campus. Many students did volunteer work, helping set up exhibits and accessioning and deaccessioning artifacts. Many of the museum's exhibits and lectures focused on Native American and Asian cultures.

The dissolution of the Evelyn Payne Hatcher Museum of Anthropology occurred in 1996.