What's New

Our highlighted collections this month focus on digital formats, both materials that get digitized due to researcher requests, and items that are born digital.

Skip Hassman: Metrodome, U.S. Bank Stadium and East Town photograph collection

Baseball season is in full swing and for many Minnesotans that can invoke a lot of memories of one place: the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The dome had its first event 35 years ago with an exhibition game of Twins versus the Philadelphia Phillies and its now been three years since the demolition of the dome was officially finished, a month ahead of schedule and amidst the construction of U.S. Bank Stadium. Although gone, the Dome lives on in the many pieces held here at the Minnesota Historical Society including recently added digital photographs.

We are pleased to highlight this collection by hobby photographer, Skip Hassman, which documents the transition from dome to ship in the Minneapolis skyline. The collection gives a look in and around the Metrodome before demolition, views over time of the demolition, construction of U.S. Bank Stadium as well as the surrounding downtown area, scenes from a few of the first events at U.S. Bank Stadium, and even includes a focus on the hard working construction workers braving high heights and all sorts of weather to complete the stadium. See the finding aid for more.

Want even more on the Metrodome? Check out our libguide for a list of various resources and a timeline of important dates for newspaper searching.

Stephen R. Riggs and Family papers digitized correspondence

To respond to frequent researcher requests for copies from our collections, we are beginning to explore large scale digitization methods that will expand public access and improve preservation. This month we are excited to release a complete digital version of the correspondence of Presbyterian missionary Stephen Return Riggs, an important collection for researchers studying early Minnesota and mission work among the Dakota.

Well known for his work among the Dakota in the Minnesota River Valley, Riggs arrived here in 1837 and soon located at Hazelwood Mission Station (in present-day Yellow Medicine County), where he established a boarding school for Dakota children. Riggs wrote a well-known Dakota lexicon (1852), translated the New Testament into the Dakota language (1871), and wrote Mary and I: Forty Years With the Sioux (1880), his personal narrative of his work among the Dakota.

Riggs Tableau To better preserve this collection and broaden public access, Society staff digitized all 32 folders of Riggs' correspondence as well as his Tableau of the Families and Single Persons Connected With the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in the Dakota Mission During the Quarter of a Century from 1835 to 1860, resulting in a total of 3,469 scanned images.

Correspondents include political leaders, religious organizations, Dakota persons, Alexander Ramsey, Henry Sibley, and many other influential names from the era. Fellow missionaries Gideon Pond, Samuel Pond, and Thomas S. Williamson who, like Riggs, were sent by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to the Minnesota River Valley. Williamson's papers and those of the Ponds are also at the Minnesota Historical Society.

New and Updated Finding Aids - April 2017

Name/Abstract	File No.
Hascal R. Brill: An Inventory of His Family Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society	P813
Personal, family, and business correspondence, diaries, legal papers, articles, and genealogical materials of Brill, a St. Paul lawyer, judge, and trustee of Hamline University, and several members of his family.
Clay County: Auditor An Inventory of Its Tax Lists	gr00372
Tax lists for the civil divisions of Clay County, recording the taxes accessed and paid on real and personal property owned by the residents for the years 1872-1874, 1876-1901, and the sample years 1910-1911, 1920-1921, 1930-1931, 1940-1941, 1950-1951, 1960-1961, 1971, 1980-1981, and 1990-1991.
Ruth Cutler: An Inventory of Her Family Papers	00665
Correspondence and papers, diaries and journals, photographs, and other materials of a daughter of Saint Paul pharmaceutical wholesaler Edward Hutchins Cutler, who served in France with the American Red Cross at the end of World War I. Includes newspaper clippings about the 1912 presidential election, and some correspondence and papers of her parents and other relatives. Some of the material is in French.
Employment and Economic Development Department: An Inventory of Its Photographs	gr01308
Photographs, assorted sizes, mostly black and white, documenting a wide range of topics related to employment and economic development, including developmentally disabled persons in the workplace, mobile offices, Minnesota State Fair educational exhibits, veterans, regional and metropolitan employment offices, Hubert H. Humphrey Job Corps Center, vocational and rehabilitation programs, Hubert H. Humphrey's visits to the St. Paul and Minneapolis youth opportunity centers, and youth programs. There are also photographs of commissioners and assistant commissioners and proclamations and signings. Although these photographs were held by the Employment and Economic Development Department, they were most likely created under its predecessors, the Trade and Economic Development Department and Economic Security Department, which merged in July 2003.
Employment Security Department: An Inventory of Its Published Records and Reports	esd01
Reports, newsletters, and miscellaneous print and near-print items of or about the Employment Security Department.
Finns in Northern Minnesota Oral History Project: An Inventory of Its Oral History Interviews	oh151
This project includes ten interviews which extensively discuss the experiences of Finnish Americans living in northern Minnesota including family backgrounds, the immigrant experience, homesteading, pioneer life, ethnic pride, and the attempt by many Finns to maintain their cultural heritage while becoming Americanized. Includes digital content.
Gordon Guy: An Inventory of His Negatives of Charles Lindbergh's Visit to Little Falls	sv000235
Collection of images documenting Charles Lindbergh's visit to Little Falls on a national tour, including views of the Spirit of St. Louis in the air and on the ground, posed group photographs, a parade, and Lindbergh's suspension bridge over Pike Creek. Includes digital content.
Skip Hassman: An Inventory of His Views of the Metrodome, U.S. Bank Stadium and East Town	sv000231
Collection includes digital images taken by hobby photographer, Skip Hassman, documenting the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome before and during demolition; the construction of the U.S. Bank Stadium, construction workers, a few of the first events held at U.S. Bank Stadium; and views of East Town during these changes to downtown. Includes digital content.
F. R. Meisch: An Inventory of His Papers	00835
Personal papers and financial records, professional files, architectural drawings, scrapbooks of photographs, and other materials of a Minnesota architect who was involved in aviation-related projects and in projects for the local Roman Catholic archdiocese, and who was also a watercolor artist active in Twin Cities artists' organizations.
Metropolitan Waste Control Commission: An Inventory of Its Project Photographs	gr01309
Photographs documenting the construction of the Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant near Pig's Eye Lake in St. Paul. Included are general views of the plant, and photographs depicting the construction of its additions and improvements (1950s-1970s).
Metropolitan Waste Control Commission: Minneapolis-Saint Paul Sanitary District: An Inventory of Its Records	gr00275
Records of this sanitary district designed to promote the public health and welfare of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area through an adequate and efficient system of treatment and disposal of sewage and industrial wastes. Includes annual and biennial reports (1933-1968), minutes (1964-1970), financial documents (1938-1970), subject files (1957-1972), project reports and studies (1934-1970), cost data of large sewers (1928-1934), contract plans for St. Paul intercepting sewers and appurtenances (1934-1937), and sewer construction photographs (1934-1938, 2014). Includes digital content.
Minnesota Artist Projects Through the Depression Years Oral History Project: An Inventory of Its Oral Histories	oh150
The project includes fifteen interviews from the 1970s and 1980s of Minnesota artists active during the Great Depression as well as one local historian. Topics discussed generally revolve around federally funded art projects, the artistic community in Minnesota, art education, and economic influences on art during the 1930s with a focus on experiences in Minnesota although other states are discussed. Nine of the interviews were conducted by the University Gallery at the University of Minnesota focusing on artists who had taken part in New Deal art projects in Minnesota. Includes digital content.
Minnesota Psychiatric Society: An Inventory of Its Records	00329
Minutes, executive council materials, administrative files, historical files, committees, councils, task forces, publications, surveys, subject files, and newsletters of a professional society established in 1956 representing more than 400 Minnesota psychiatrists in training and in practice, in all subspecialties.
Harold George Neu: An Inventory of His Collection of Civilian Conservation Corps, Company 1723 Photographs	sv000234
Collection of images from Little Falls and Park Rapids areas documenting Civilian Conservation Corps, Company 1723 including snapshots of Harold George Neu, a member of Company 1723, with other members; tents and cabins; roads; trucks; Corps work; and two panoramic group portraits of Company 1723, including Neu, by P. M. Mehl at Camp Ripley in Little Falls, Minnesota. Includes digital content.
Rice County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Indexes	gr01306
Plaintiffs and defendants indexes to the "Case Files and Miscellaneous Court Papers" (cataloged separately) for the years 1856 to circa 1886, to registers of actions (cataloged separately) for the years 1877 to 1935, to criminal registers of actions (cataloged separately) for cases 1-1400s, and plaintiffs (1885-1945) and defendants (1885-1941) indexes to District Court case files.
Rice County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Registers of Actions	gr01305
The entry for each case gives the parties' names and a chronological list of documents filed, orders issued, costs adjudged, and other actions by the court or the disputing parties. The 1856-1875 register of criminal actions includes references to the Minnesota Territory.
Rice County: Faribault: Municipal Court: An Inventory of Its Records	gr01307
Plaintiffs and defendants indexes (circa 1965-1982); minutes and registers of civil and criminal actions (1925-1973); Police Department's record of criminal cases in justice court (1904-1923); and judgment docket (1925-1973).
Stephen R. Riggs and Family: An Inventory of Their Papers	00797
Letters, reminiscences, genealogical data, and miscellany of this Presbyterian missionary, his wife Mary Ann Longley Riggs, and other family members, focusing on the Riggs' missionary service at Lake Harriet (now Minneapolis) and Lac Qui Parle, Minnesota (1837-1862), his work as an interpreter during the U.S.-Dakota War (1862), and his subsequent activities as an author of Dakota-language teaching materials. Includes digital content.
WALTER F. MONDALE: An Inventory of His Personal Papers	00697_Personal
Mondale's personal papers document his family, education, military service, law practice, and political activities. Included are correspondence, telephone logs, photographs, memorabilia, and drafts of a Mondale biography written by Steven M. Gillon.

New and Updated Catalog Records

Humphrey, Hubert H. (Hubert Horatio), 1911-1978. Congratulatory telegram to John F. Kennedy, 1960 May 11.

Congratulatory telegram sent by Senator Hubert Humphrey from Charleston, West Virginia to Senator John F. Kennedy upon Kennedy's winning the Democratic West Virginia presidential primary.

Morin, Charles Napoleon, 1849-1922. Memoire de mes voiyage Charles Npl. Morin, circa 1894.

Original and photocopy of a reminiscence, in French, chronicling Morin's life from his birth in Deschambault, Quebec, Canada; his search for work and adventure in Chicago, San Francisco, British Columbia, and Alaska; and his eventual settlement in Argyle, Minnesota.

District Court (Rice County). Land registration dockets, 1911-1983.

Box 1. Volume 1, case file nos. 1-160, 1911-1977. Box 2. Volume 2, case file nos. 161-170, 1977-1983.

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