What's New -- April 2024
Newly added accessions this month include the Agriculture and Rural Life Oral History Project Interviews; the Capitol Area Library Consortium Records; the Freshwater Society Records; and the Paul Anders Ogren Legislative Correspondence.
Other collections with additions or added digital content include the Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Minnesota Records; the Jonathan Carver Papers; the Faribault State School and Hospital Private Diaries; the Governor Alexander Ramsey Gubernatorial Records; the KSTP-AM World War II Sound Recordings; the Lyon County Independent School District No. 411 (Balaton) Records; the Mike Lynch Papers; several additions to the MNHS Institutional Archives; the Stearns County, Probate Court, Probate Case Files and Index; the Steele County, Probate Court, Probate Case Files; the Transportation Department, Published Records and Reports; the Unity Church Records; the Waseca County, Probate Court, Case Files; and the Watonwan County, Madelia Records.
In addition there are many newly encoded finding aids that are now available online for the first time.
New and Updated Finding Aids
| Name/Abstract | File No. |
|---|---|
| Agriculture and Rural Life Oral History Project: An Inventory of Its Oral History Interviews | oh180 |
 Three interviews document agriculture and rural life in Minnesota.
Interviewees include a full-time farmer, a fifth generation farmer who also became County
Commissioner in Clay County as well as Coordinator of Rural Life Outreach of Northwest Minnesota,
and a newspaper editor of the Norman County Index.Includes digital content. |
|
| Aitkin County: Workman Township: An Inventory of Its Records | gr02880 |
| Clerk's (1902-1916, 1920-1969) and treasurer's (1902-1974) record books, treasurer's annual statements (1959-1984), audit board annual reports (1953, 1969), annual town meeting minutes (1936-1977) and poll lists (1963, 1976), wolf bounty certificates (1926), justice of the peace docket (1929-1930), and township clerk stationery (approximately 1920). | |
| Beltrami County: Bemidji: An Inventory of Its Miscellaneous Records | gr02881 |
| Includes a report on poor relief (1933), comprehensive city plan (1947), annual report (1964), a budget (1968) and proposed budget (1969), a report on the evolving community (1969), papers regarding annexation of properties to the city (1978), and city charters (1905, 1976). | |
| Beltrami County: Bemidji Township: An Inventory of Its Records | gr02883 |
| Town record books (1896-1921, 1924-1959); clerk's annual statements (1934-1941, 1974-1975); treasurer's account books (1896-1930) and statements (1928-1977); road records (1897-1976); election records (1908-1967); audit board minutes (1902, 1936-1938); gopher and wolf bounty records (1901-1960); health officers record of dangerous diseases (1921-1944); maps (undated); town officers list (1896-1976); historical notes; personal property tabular statement (1933); and ordinances and resolutions (1934, 1976-1977). The latter deal with relief, sewage, and land subdivision and districting. | |
| Beltrami County: Bemidji: Justice of the Peace: An Inventory of Its Civil and Criminal Dockets | gr02882 |
| Docket books, primarily of justices John N. Martin, L. P. Pendergast, and J. L. Reynolds. Also represented are justices E. J. Achenbach, O. M. Skinvik, Robert Clark, Hiram A. Siemons, and M. G. Slocum. | |
| Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Minnesota: An Inventory of Its Records | 00621 |
 Subject files, movies, photographs, advertising
samples, and other records of an Eagan, Minnesota-based nonprofit health service
corporation and its predecessors that had its beginnings with the organization
in 1933 of Minnesota Blue Cross, Minnesota's first pre-paid health plan. Includes digital content. |
|
| Blue Earth County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Civil Case Files | gr02916 |
| File numbers 1-8268. Includes a partial list of missing files. | |
| Blue Earth County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Criminal Case Files | gr02917 |
| File numbers 1-793. | |
| Capitol Area Library Consortium: An Inventory of Its Records | 01539 |
 Records of a network of Minnesota state agency and other
libraries founded in 1973 that work cooperatively to promote and enhance library services
in state government and to the public. |
|
| Jonathan Carver: An Inventory of His Papers | 01035 |
 Photostatic copies of a journal of Carver's
expedition to the Mississippi River (1766-1767), a Survey journal, and a
Dictionary of the Naudowessee language, and typed transcripts of these
documents; copies of surveys and deeds to the Carver land grant of 1767, which
encompassed some four million acres in present-day western Wisconsin; copies of
letters about the French and Indian War (1759) and James Tute's gifts to the
Indians (1768); copies of two petitions to the British government (1769-1770)
asking that Carver be reimbursed for his expedition to the Mississippi; and a
copy of a recommendation by the British government on this request.Includes digital content. |
|
| Conservation Department: An Inventory of Photographs by Commissioner Chester S. Wilson | gr02909 |
| Photographs, largely taken by Wilson, of departmental projects in which he was interested as commissioner of conservation. | |
| Conservation Department: An Inventory of Photographs Relating to Soil and Water Conservation | gr02910 |
 Assorted sized black and white photographs assembled
by the Conservation Department mainly documenting the role in Minnesota of the
United States Department of Agriculture’s Soil Conservation Service
(SCS).Includes digital content. |
|
| Conservation Department: Parks and Recreation Division: An Inventory of Its Photographs | gr02911 |
| Assorted sized black and white photographs, mainly documenting buildings, scenery, personnel, special events, and development in the state parks and related recreational and scenic areas. | |
| Conservation Department: Parks and Recreation Division: An Inventory of Its State Park Atlases | gr02912 |
| Blueprint atlases showing detailed drawings of the state parks and state trails operated by the Department of Conservation. Four volumes (1957, 1965, 1967, 1971) cover the state park system as a whole. Two volumes (1963, 1969) show proposed new parks and additions to existing parks. | |
| Dodge County: Probate Court: An Inventory of Its Case Files | gr02879 |
| Probate case files numbers 1-1808. | |
| Education Department: An Inventory of Its Reorganization Proposals | gr02885 |
| Files relating to the reorganization and consolidation of the state’s school districts. | |
| Education Department: An Inventory of Its School District Surveys | gr02884 |
| Bound mimeograph copies of survey reports on Minnesota public school districts for the years 1921-1927 and 1951-1969. | |
| Education Department: An Inventory of Its Subject Files | gr02886 |
| Correspondence, memos, reports, legislation,
financial records, and related materials documenting all aspects of the department's administration and activities. |
|
| Education Department: Board of Education: An Inventory of Its Minutes and Agenda Packets | gr02887 |
| Master set of minutes for 1919 (May) through 1960; and agenda packets, containing minutes and the memos, reports, and other documents acted upon at each meeting, for 1950-1979 and 1981-1991. | |
| Faribault State School and Hospital: An Inventory of Its Private Diaries | gr02915 |
 Diaries, possibly kept by a secretary to the superintendent,
in which are recorded notes concerning both routine and extraordinary events at the
institution (most often the comings and goings of staff, inmates, and visitors).Includes digital content. |
|
| Fillmore County: Probate Court: An Inventory of Its Probate Record Books | gr02888 |
| Handwritten transcriptions of documents presented to or issued by the probate court in cases involving decedents. In particular, they include reports and accounts of estate administrators, inventories of real and personal property, and final decrees of distribution. | |
| Fillmore County: Probate Court: An Inventory of Its Will Books | gr02889 |
| Copies or transcriptions of the complete texts of wills probated by the courts, accompanied by certifications of authenticity and of filing signed by witnesses and clerks of court. Original wills are found in the probate case files. | |
| Freshwater Society: An Inventory of Its Records | 01537 |
 Records of a Minnesota-based nonprofit organization founded in 1968 by Dick Gray and
others and that for many years operated a freshwater research institute on Lake Minnetonka, Hennepin County,
Minnesota. The Institute was for part of that time affiliated with the University of Minnesota College of Biological
Sciences.Includes digital content. |
|
| Governor: Ramsey, Alexander: An Inventory of His Gubernatorial Records | gov016 |
Includes accounting records; records concerning both civil and military
appointments; letters received; records relating to pardons and other criminal
matters; and petitions. There is substantial documentation of military affairs,
especially concerning Minnesota regiments in the Civil War, and the Dakota Wars
of 1862-1863.Includes digital content. |
|
| Grant County: Stony Brook Township: An Inventory of Its Records | gr02890 |
| Includes clerk's books, treasurer's books, treasurer's annual statements, annual meeting minutes, audit board annual reports, road records, poll lists, election returns, and chattel mortgage record (1877-1897). | |
| Itasca County: Board of Poor and Hospital Commissioners: An Inventory of Its Minute Books | gr02891 |
| Minute books of the Itasca County Poor and Hospital Commission. | |
| Itasca County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Civil Case Files. No. 1618: Minnesota Canal and Power Company v the Koochiching Company et al., 1903-1906 | gr02892 |
| Case documents, depositions, transcripts, and plaintiff's exhibits (blueprint maps) in the case of Minnesota Canal and Power Company (MCPC) v the Koochiching Company, Minneapolis Trust Company, E. W. Backus, International Bridge and Terminal Company, May A. Cook, F. T. Nicoll, Frank P. Nicoll, Eugene A. Arnold, and Ernestine S. Arnold. The MCPC sought permission to condemn certain lands in St. Louis County for the right of way for a canal and waterway for navigation and other purposes, including the supply of water to municipalities together with reservoir and flowage purposes. | |
| Itasca County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Coroner's Records | gr02893 |
| Registers of coroner's reports submitted to the court, and an incomplete set of corresponding coroner's certificate files. | |
| Itasca County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Default Judgment Books | gr02894 |
| Default judgment books of the Itasca County District Court. | |
| Itasca County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Indictment Record | gr02895 |
| Indictment records of the Itasca County District Court. | |
| Itasca County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Judgment Books | gr02896 |
| Judgment books of the Itasca County District Court. | |
| Itasca County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Judgment Dockets | gr02897 |
| Judgment dockets of the Itasca County District Court. | |
| Itasca County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Minute Books | gr02898 |
| Minute books of the Itasca County District Court. | |
| Itasca County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Naturalization Records and Index | gr02899 |
| Personal name index, declarations of intention, final papers, petition and record, lists of citizenship petitions granted and denied, applications to take oath of allegiance, applications for transfer of petition for naturalization, and loose naturalization papers. | |
| Itasca County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Real Estate Tax Judgment Records | gr02900 |
| Real estate tax judgment records of the Itasca County District Court. | |
| Itasca County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Registers of Certificates of Conviction in Justice Court | gr02901 |
| Registers of certificates of conviction in justice court of the Itasca County District Court. | |
| Itasca County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Registration and Certificate Records | gr02902 |
| Registers of optometrists, massage licenses, physicians, dentists, osteopaths, chiropractors, veterinarians, and basic science certificates. | |
| Itasca County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Torrens Records | gr02903 |
| Transcripts of court decrees in land title cases, and docket books that provide a record of documents filed, orders issued, and other court actions in each case. A large number of the cases are for lands acquired by the Itasca Lumber Company, Homestead Iron Mining Company, Bovey-DeLaittre Lumber Company, Mid-State Land Company, and various other land, lumber, and mining corporations, or by individuals connected with them. | |
| Itasca County: Juvenile Court: An Inventory of Its Juvenile Court Records | gr02904 |
| Dockets, records of proceedings, petitions, orders, commitment warrants, related administrative documents, and transcripts of testimony in cases of delinquent, dependent, or neglected children. | |
| Itasca County: Probate Court: An Inventory of Its Final Decrees of Distribution | gr02905 |
| Final decrees (1900-1935) containing data on decedents' estates and their distribution to heirs and/or legatees. Also miscellaneous order books (1891-1935, 1961-1982) including data on insanities (1891-1926, OPEN FOR USE), wills (1933-1935), and scattered final decrees (1917-1926). | |
| Itasca County: Probate Court: An Inventory of Its Insanity Records | gr02906 |
| Petitions in insanity giving details on the case, reports of jury or board of examiners, and related orders and commitment documents. | |
| Itasca County: Probate Court: An Inventory of Its Will Books | gr02907 |
| Copies or transcriptions of the complete texts of wills probated by the courts, accompanied by certifications of authenticity and of filing signed by witnesses and clerks of court. Original wills are found in the probate case files. | |
| KSTP-AM: An Inventory of Its World War II Sound Recordings at Fort Snelling | sv000017 |
| Sound recordings from weekly radio programs that
were broadcast from Fort Snelling such as This is your army, the Ken Barry news,
the War chest show, and outtakes of Fort Snelling staff thanking KSTP for its
support in broadcasting. Some local acts such as the Andrews Sisters, the Fort
Snelling Military Band, and the Japanese-American Choir are featured on This is
your army. Includes digital content. |
|
| Lieutenant Governor: Dyrstad, Joanell M.: An Inventory of the Files of Joanell Dyrstad | gr02931 |
| Schedule (1991-1992) and speech (1991-1994) files of Lieutenant Governor Joanell M. Dyrstad. | |
| Mike Lynch: An Inventory of His Papers | 01366 |
 Personal papers of painter Mike Lynch. Papers
include sketchbooks and loose sketch pages; journals; art instruction books; business and sales records;
project files, including research on pigments and the Gold Metal Flour Mill Elevator; select prints; other
childhood and professional ephemera; materials related to fellow artists and colleagues; sound and visual
materials; and clippings scrapbooks.Includes digital content. |
|
| Minnesota Historical Society: An Inventory of Its Institutional Records | 00513 |
 The
archives of the Minnesota Historical Society contains historically valuable
records from all of its administrative and program units. They reflect and
document the history of the organization from its 1849 beginning as the first
private corporation chartered by the territorial legislature. Includes digital content. |
|
| Paul Anders Ogren: An Inventory of His Legislative Correspondence | 01540 |
| Legislative correspondence of Minnesota House of Representative Paul Anders Ogren, who represented Districts 13B and 14A. The legislative correspondence includes constituent correspondence and his replies during the period he served in the 72nd to 77th Minnesota Legislative Sessions from 1983 to 1992. | |
| St. Cloud State Reformatory: An Inventory of Its Annual and Biennial Reports | gr02913 |
| Annual and biennial reports of the Saint Cloud State Reformatory for Men. | |
| St. Cloud State Reformatory: An Inventory of Its Annual Inventories | gr02914 |
| Itemized inventories of real estate, provisions and groceries, household supplies and furniture, clothing, fuel and lights, hospital and medical supplies, stationery and office supplies, library books (by category only), recreational supplies, manufacturing materials, farm supplies and livestock, machinery and tools, building supplies, and miscellaneous items. | |
| St. Cloud State Reformatory: An Inventory of Its Correspondence and Miscellaneous Records | gr02918 |
| Biennial reports; superintendent's general correspondence; board of control and various other board and department correspondence; statistical reports; and subject files. | |
| St. Cloud State Reformatory: An Inventory of Its Financial Records | gr02919 |
| Journals, ledgers, cash books, voucher registers, supplies statements, and other financial records documenting transactions related to the construction of and improvements to the Reformatory physical plant, to various prison industries and enterprises, and to day-to-day operation of the facility. | |
| St. Cloud State Reformatory: An Inventory of Its Industry Records and Reports | gr02920 |
| Includes farm and garden financial reports (1903-1910), monthly farm reports (1911-1956), farm report worksheets (1956-1962), records of farm charges and credits (1933-1964), monthly statement of products of industrial departments delivered to steward (1901-1911, 1932-1949), untitled farm newsletters of the Public Welfare Department (1956-1963), shoe shop daybook (1902-1907), diversified labor trial balances (summary data on materials and labor used and receipts from sales, 1937-1942), construction department report and inventory (1912-1913), and a journal (1902-1915). | |
| St. Cloud State Reformatory: An Inventory of Its Letters Sent (Letterpress) | gr02921 |
| Includes outgoing letterpress books, board of control letters, and annual reports. | |
| St. Cloud State Reformatory: An Inventory of Its Minutes of Administrative Units | gr02922 |
| Minutes of Reformatory superintendents' staff meetings and meetings of department heads, which concerned everyday administration of the institution, and of meetings of various inmate review bodies. | |
| St. Cloud State Reformatory: An Inventory of Its Misconduct Records | gr02923 |
| Misconduct records of the St. Cloud State Reformatory for Men. | |
| St. Cloud State Reformatory: An Inventory of Its Parole Records | gr02924 |
| Record of parolees from the St. Cloud State Reformatory, generally giving the following information: name, registration (institution case file?) number, county received from and date, crime and sentence, date of parole, date term expires, kind of work engaged in and wages, name of employer, address, number of months imprisonment, number of months on parole, and a record of periodic reports (date and parole officer's memo). | |
| St. Cloud State Reformatory: An Inventory of Its Payroll Registers | gr02925 |
| Payroll registers of the St. Cloud State Reformatory. | |
| St. Cloud State Reformatory: An Inventory of Its Population Reports | gr02926 |
| These document the movement of individuals into and out of the Reformatory, the Youth Conservation Commission Reception Center, and the Annex for Defective Delinquents. There is information about parolees, escapees and fugitives, transfers to other institutions, individuals in work release programs, and discharges and releases. Some is about specifically named individuals, with information about offenses and sentences. Statistical information includes monthly population counts and averages. | |
| St. Cloud State Reformatory: An Inventory of Its Record of Interviews with Inmates and Contact with References | gr02927 |
| Two volumes (1894-1897) contain narrative reports, possibly of the parole agent, of initial interviews with inmates upon their arrival, and of subsequent contact with the inmates while at the institution. The initial reports contain the inmate's case history, as told to the narrator, and the narrator's assessment of the inmate's character. Subsequent notations relate to contacts with parents and others, and inmate complaints or requests for assistance in handling personal affairs outside the institution. The other volume (1893-1895) contains briefer notes regarding the inmate's case history, often only the conviction resulting in commitment, and results of contacts with parents, previous employers, or other references. | |
| St. Cloud State Reformatory: An Inventory of Its Statistical Reports | gr02928 |
| Statistical reports, lists, and tabulations. Data includes numbers of individuals admitted to the Reformatory, returned, discharged, transferred, paroled, and escaped. There is information about inmates' ethnic and religious backgrounds, occupations, and their crimes and sentences. A set of reports gives information about patients at the Annex for Defective Delinquents. Nearly all of the files contain some data about specifically named individuals. | |
| St. Cloud State Reformatory: An Inventory of Its Store Records | gr02929 |
| Records documenting the central stores function at the Reformatory. | |
| St. Cloud State Reformatory: An Inventory of Its Trial Transcripts | gr02930 |
| Transcripts of proceedings from inmates' district court jury trials. Transcripts were created for only a small proportion of the inmate case files. | |
| Stearns County: Probate Court: An Inventory of Its Probate Case Files and Index | gr00278 |
 Case files (microfilm) and index covering circa
1857-1891 (unfilmed original).Includes digital content. |
|
| Steele County: Probate Court: An Inventory of Its Probate Case Files | gr02127 |
 Probate case files of Steele County.Includes digital content. |
|
| Transportation Department: An Inventory of Its Published Records and Reports | gr01312 |
| Reports, newsletters, and miscellaneous print and near-print items of or about the Transportation Department. | |
| U.S. General Land Office: An Inventory of Its Miscellaneous Maps | gr02908 |
| Fragmentary maps of the Root River, Alexandria, and St. Cloud land districts (1870-1872); map showing Northern Pacific Railroad land limits in Stillwater Land District; plats of highway rights of way across Indian land (1913-1925); and outline map of U.S. base and principal meridian lines. | |
| Unity Church (St. Paul, Minn.): An Inventory of Its Records | 00896 |
| Records of this Unitarian church,
relating to its administration, programming, membership, clubs, committees, affiliation with
state and national Unitarian associations and buildings, as well as the correspondence, sermons,
and files of various Unity Church ministers. Includes digital content. |
|
| Waseca County: Probate Court: An Inventory of Its Case Files | gr02830 |
 Case files of the Waseca County Probate Court.Includes digital content. |
|
| Watonwan County: Madelia: An Inventory of Its Records | gr02380 |
| Records including village/city council meeting minutes, ordinances, lockup registers, and financial records. | |
New and Updated Catalog Records
| Minnesota. Independent School District No. 411 (Balaton), Records, 1933-1934, 1960. |
| Includes minutes, 1933-1934 (1 folder) and student handbook, 1960 (1 folder). |
Archives - New Finding Aids
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