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In the break between snow seasons there is always plenty of weather for Minnesotans to talk about. Nothing is more pertinent in the summer than rain storms and floods except the humidity, of course.
On July 6th, 1978, after significant heavy rainfall, the South Fork of the Zumbro River crested at almost 30 feet at the Rochester Beltline near Apache Mall (24 feet being flood stage according to the National Weather Service website). The Post Bulletin stated the flood led to the destruction of many homes, the death of five people, and $75,000,000 in property losses. Flooding that summer was so severe that President Jimmy Carter declared a federal disaster area that covered not only Olmsted county, but 12 other counties including Wabasha, Winona, Dodge, Fillmore, Goodhue, Mower, Houston, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Benton, and Washington.
The Rochester Area Flood and Flood Control Photograph Collection provides a look at this disastrous flood. Images were taken by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District showing aerial views of the flooding and street views of various businesses and people after the river and its tributaries crested. Many of the photographs have been identified with exact times and places and photocopies made by the Corps of Engineers that identify more streets and businesses are also included. Additionally, this collection contains aerial views and images of drawings, models, and maps related to the Corps of Engineers plans for flood control, both in response to the 1978 flood as well as earlier floods that occurred in the 1960s.
Selected images from the collection have been digitized and are available for viewing online, the rest of the collection can be seen with a visit to the Gale Family Library at the Minnesota History Center. This is just one of many floods that can be recalled in the state's recent and not so recent past. Other resources on floods in Minnesota can be found in the library, a good place to start is the research guide on Disaster Relief in Minnesota.
Apache Mall flooding (I.549.65)
Rochester flood control (I.549.199)
Rochester flooding (I.549.104)
New and Updated Finding Aids - July 2019
| Name/Abstract | File No. |
|---|---|
| Agriculture Department: An Inventory of Its Biennial Reports | gr01616 |
| Biennial reports of the Agriculture Department (1919-1929, 1961- ) and the Agriculture, Dairy and Food Department (1929-1961). Also scattered reports (1889-1924) of the State Dairy and Food Commission, which existed in parallel with the Agricultural Department until 1929. | |
| Agriculture Department: Plant Industry Division: State Entomologist: An Inventory of Its Annual and Biennial Reports | gr01615 |
| Reports for 1895-1922 (1st-19th); and the 1946/1948, 1948-1950, and 1952/1954 (36th) reports of the Division of Plant Industry and Office of State Entomologist. Supplemented by typescript reports (incomplete) for 1904-1920. | |
| Agriculture Department: Plant Industry Division: State Entomologist: An Inventory of Its Records | gr01617 |
| Correspondence, reports, circulars, and miscellany regarding the activities of the State Entomologist in nursery inspection and regulation, plant pest and disease control, grasshopper control, crop reports, and fruit culture. | |
| American Fur Company: An Inventory of Its Records | 01319 |
 Photostatic copies, typed
copies, microfilm, and original documents of the
American Fur Company, many of them selected from the
following libraries and archives: the New York
Historical Society; the John Jacob Astor House; the
Edward E. Ayer Collection of the Newberry Library; the
Library of Congress; the Burton Historical Collection;
and the Public Archives of Canada. Includes digital content. |
|
| Julian Baird: An Inventory of His Family Papers | 00815 |
Correspondence, speeches,
congressional committee minutes, photographs, clippings,
recorded reminiscences, and other material largely
documenting Baird's tenure as U.S. treasury
undersecretary, 1957-1961. Also included are the papers
of Julian's sons, Duncan H. Baird and John B. Baird. Includes digital content. |
|
| Council on Black Minnesotans: An Inventory of the Council on Black Minnesotans Moving Image Collection | sv000306 |
 Recordings of speech and
discussions with Commissioner Barbara Burke-Tatum of
Massachussetts and seven episodes of Focus On, a cable
access show designed to be a public forum with an
Afrocentric perspective and point of view. Speech and
discussions were hosted by the Council on Black
Minnesotans (now the Council for Minnesotans of African
Heritage) in March 1985. Focus On (broadcast in 1987)
was produced in the Twin Cities by Victor L. Propes,
executive director of the Council on Black Minnesotans,
in conjunction with Cable Access-St. Paul, Inc.;
Continental Cablevision, Inc.; and Creative Focus. Includes digital content. |
|
| Brian J. Coyle: An Inventory of His Papers | 00020 |
| Personal, political, and
official papers documenting the life and career of a gay
activist and Minneapolis (Minn.) city council member.
Includes digital content. |
|
| Education and Housing Equity Project (Minneapolis, Minn.): An Inventory of Its Records | 00857 |
 Minutes, financial statements,
correspondence, discussion guides, news clippings, sound
and visual materials and other records of an
organization formed in 1995 to advance public
understanding of the growing economic disparities and
racial segregation in the Twin Cities metropolitan area
and to develop constructive community responses to these
challenges. Includes digital content. |
|
| Arvonne S. Fraser: An Inventory of Her Papers | 00034 |
 Correspondence, schedules,
speech files, draft and published writings, extensive
background and conference files, audio and video
recordings, and administrative and programmatic files
related to Arvonne Fraser's involvement with women's
organizations, Democratic party politics, government
agencies, and educational institutions, both in
Minnesota and nationally. Includes digital content. |
|
| Health Department: An Inventory of Its Death Registers | gr01539 |
 Death registers containing
information on deaths that occurred in Minnesota during
the year 1899, compiled from certified copies of death
registries sent to the State Board of Health and Vital
Statistics (Health Department) by local registrars. The
compiled registers are incomplete; they do not list all
deaths that occurred in the state during the year. They
are not considered official death records. Includes digital content. |
|
| Hennepin County, Minnesota : An Inventory of Telephone Directories | lb00086 |
| A collection of telephone directories for cities in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Telephone directories are published by telephone companies and include alphabetical listings of residential and business phone numbers and street addresses in the white pages, and a listing of businesses arranged by subject in the yellow pages. Each entry on the inventory lists the city name, year of coverage, and the shelf number of the printed volume or microfiche set which includes that city. | |
| Hennepin County: Minneapolis: Minneapolis Public Schools: Board of Education: An Inventory of Its Desegregation/Integration Files | gr00722 |
| Documents recording the desegregation/integration of
the Minneapolis public schools during the 1960s-2000s, including various legal
proceeding involving the district. Includes digital content. |
|
| Horticultural Society: An Inventory of Records | gr01593 |
 Records of a society created to
promote the development of fruits and vegetables that
could withstand the Minnesota winters. Includes digital content. |
|
| Mediation Services Bureau An Inventory of Its Transcripts of Representation and Fair Share Hearings | gr00142 |
| Transcripts of hearings held by the Bureau of Mediation Services to investigate and certify collective bargaining units and representatives, determine fair share fee assessments, and mediate disputes between labor unions and employers connected with these matters. | |
| Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission: An Inventory of Its Subject Files | gr01606 |
 Correspondence, clippings,
reports, press releases, studies, financial documents,
and related materials mainly documenting special events
occurring at the Metrodome, including the roof inflation
(1981) and dedication (1982) ceremonies; the 1985 All
Star Game; the 1986 Bob Dylan/Grateful Dead concert, the
first in the Metrodome; the NCAA Basketball Tournament
(1982-1994), particularly the 1992 Final Four; the 1992
Super Bowl (1980-1992); the Metrodome's tenth
anniversary (1992); and the World Series (1987, 1991). Includes digital content. |
|
| Midland Cooperatives, Inc.: An Inventory of Its Records | 00219 |
| Articles of incorporation, minutes, resolutions, financial information, programs, meeting files, academic theses regarding cooperation, audiotapes, printed material, and photographs relating to a Minneapolis-based farmers' oil and merchandise consumer cooperative organized in 1926 as the Minnesota Co-op Oil Company. The cooperative specialized in marketing light oil products, then added tires, auto accessories, paint and hardware, farm supplies, household appliances, groceries, fertilizer, feed and seed, and farm machinery to its merchandise stocks. The cooperative was merged into Land O'Lakes in 1982. | |
| Minneapolis-Moline Company: An Inventory of Its Records | 00063 |
| Records related to a
Minneapolis-based manufacturer of farm tractors and
implements and to several predecessor, related, and
successor companies, including the Minneapolis Threshing
Machine Company, the Minneapolis Steel and Machinery
Company, B.F. Avery & Sons Co., the Moline Plow
Company, and the White Motor Corporation. Includes digital content. |
|
| Minnesota State Band: An Inventory of Its Records | gr00166 |
| Mainly records compiled by
Joseph G. Komro, an accountant with the Minnesota
Department of Agriculture and conductor and director of
the band for most of the years from its formal 1963
organization through 1998. The majority of the files
document the band's activities, including several
European tours and the band's 100th anniversary concert. Includes digital content. |
|
| Morrison County: Bellevue Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01609 |
| Birth and death registers (1872-1915) and certificate record books (1915-1953). | |
| Morrison County: Little Falls: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01611 |
| Birth (1908-1953) and death (1908-1942) certificates and death register (1950-1953). | |
| Morrison County: Motley Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01612 |
| Birth and death register (1905-1942), birth (1941-1949) and death (1945-1951) certificates, and burial/removal permits (1908-1939). | |
| Morrison County: Parker Township: An Inventory of Its Birth and Death Records | gr01613 |
| Birth (1880-1945) and death (1881-1953) registers, certificates and records. | |
| Northwest Airlines, Inc.: An Inventory of Its Corporate Records | 00110 |
 Financial
records, photographs, and subject files of a St. Paul-based commercial airline
with global operations stretching from the Far East to Western
Europe.Includes digital content. |
|
| Pardon Board: An Inventory of Its Pardon Calendars | gr01250 |
| Minutes (titled "calendars" by the board) of the Board of Pardons, largely comprising a record of actions on individual pardon applications, although other actions of the board are also mentioned. The pardon applications are often discussed in some detail. | |
| Ramsey County, Minnesota : An Inventory of Telephone Directories | lb00108 |
| A collection of telephone directories for cities in Ramsey County, Minnesota. Telephone directories are published by telephone companies and include alphabetical listings of residential and business phone numbers and street addresses in the white pages, and a listing of businesses arranged by subject in the yellow pages. Each entry on the inventory lists the city name, year of coverage, and the shelf number of the printed volume or microfiche set which includes that city. | |
| Ramsey County: Auditor: An Inventory of Its Abstracts of Votes | gr00394 |
| Abstracts of votes for primary (September, 1902-2009/August, 2009-) and general (November) elections for national, state, and county officers for St. Paul and Ramsey County, and for primary (March) and general (April) elections for St. Paul city officers and city charter amendments. Also special primary elections and the April 2008 U.S. Senate recount results (Franken and Coleman). | |
| Red Lake County: Lambert Township: An Inventory of Its Records | gr01607 |
| Clerk's books, treasurer's books, birth and death records, poll lists and election registers, a road record book, federal census worksheets (1909-1910), and miscellany. | |
| St. Peter State Hospital: An Inventory of Its Casebooks | gr00077 |
Personal and medical histories of each patient admitted
to the hospital. Information
recorded may include patient's name and case file
number, county of residence, date admitted, gender, age,
nativity, marital status, occupation, education,
religion, medical history and condition (with periodic
updates) and date discharged. For some patients there is
correspondence from genealogists requesting family
history information and the replies from the hospital,
clinical charts and legal documents. Includes digital content. |
|
| Sauk Centre Home School for Girls: An Inventory of Its Birth Records | gr01608 |
| Several compilations of information on babies born to residents of the home school. | |
| Scott County: Eagle Creek Township: Justice of the Peace: An Inventory of Its Civil and Criminal Dockets | gr01619 |
| Civil and criminal docket, 1944-1946 (1 volume); and criminal dockets, May 1959-September 1967, from Justice of the Peace Verne W. Mabee (3 volumes and 1 partial volume). | |
| Scott County: Savage: Justice of the Peace: An Inventory of Its Criminal Dockets | gr01620 |
| Criminal docket books of Justices of the Peace Ben H. Morlock and Verne W. Mabee. | |
| Ruth Nomura Tanbara: An Inventory of Her Papers | 01314 |
 Papers of Japanese American
activist, organizer, and longtime YWCA Adult Education
and International Program Director Ruth Tanbara.
Includes correspondence, biographical materials,
photographs, newspaper clippings, speeches, diaries, and
printed material related to the relocation of Japanese
Americans from the West Coast during World War II and
her family's eventual relocation to Minnesota. Also
included are memoir correspondence and drafts for
"Reflections", an oral history transcript for the St.
Paul-Nagasaki Sister City Project, travel files, and a
manuscript copy of her cookbook, Ruth Tanbara's Japanese
Food Recipes. The papers also consist of official
pamphlets regarding restrictions placed upon Japanese
Americans and letters from friends in relocation and
internment camps describing conditions in various camps.
Includes digital content. |
|
| Traverse County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Civil and Criminal Case Files | gr01272 |
| Files numbered 1-9,408. Also includes civil case file exhibits (1916-1970), unnumbered case file transcripts (1913-1916), and transcripts and records of testimony (1921-1941). | |
| Traverse County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Registration and Certificate Records | gr01618 |
| Records or registers for optometrists, chiropractors, veterinarians, ministers, Medical Examiners Board certificates, and basic science certificates; and license record for stallions certified by the Stallion Registration Board (1907-1918). | |
| United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. St. Paul District: An Inventory of Its Rochester Flood and Flood Control Planning Photograph Collection | sv000307 |
 Color photographs by the United
States Army Corps of Engineers, Saint Paul District,
document 1975 flood control planning, 1978 flooding, and
1980-1982 flood control planning in Rochester and the
surrounding area. Views show the course of the Zumbro
River and other creeks, namely Cascade Creek and Bear
Creek, with aerial and street-level images of roads,
businesses, neighborhoods, and parks affected by
flooding and flood control planning. Photographs are
mostly identified and have United States Army Corps of
Engineers number identifiers. Flood control planning
includes photographs of drawings and maps as well as
photocopies of images with identification of streets and
businesses. Includes digital content. |
|
| Lydia Vinton: An Inventory of Her Family Diaries | 01313 |
 Diaries (1879-1899) kept by
Lydia Vinton describing her life on a farm she and her
husband Austin Vinton owned in Waseca County, Minnesota,
as well as diaries kept by a son (1858, 1867-1870) and
grandson (1888-1889). Includes digital content. |
|
| Water and Soil Resources Board An Inventory of Its Minutes | gr00038 |
| Minutes of board meetings, accompanied by agendas, meeting notices, correspondence, reports, annual plans, and related materials. | |
| Wright County: Delano: An Inventory of Its Records | gr01574 |
 Records of the Village/City of
Delano in Wright County. Includes digital content. |
|
| Wright County: Delano: Justice of the Peace: An Inventory of Its Docket Books | gr01572 |
 Justices include Frank
Matchett, L.H. Rawson, T.J. Catlin, A.R. Holston, W.H.
Frazee, Reynold Bohn, F.H. Lindsley, F.W. Harper,
William Ziebarth, Isabel Kerr, Ernest Otto, William G.
Wiegert, J.L. Johnson, and Clifford E. Olson. Includes digital content. |
|
New and Updated Catalog Records
| Canada. Governor General. Records relating to the fur trade, 1768-1807, 1867. |
| Typewritten and/or photostatic copies of about 500 abstracts of licenses to trade with the Indians that were granted at Montreal and Quebec by the British government to fur traders in the Great Lakes area (1768-1776); an index of the licenses; consolidated returns, giving lists of licenses (1777-1790); a brief historical sketch of the license system written by Wayne E. Stevens; selected items of official correspondence between the United States and Great Britain relating to the fur trade in the upper Mississippi Valley, the Louisiana Purchase, and the North West Company; and letters enclosing a memorandum on the Red River settlement (1867). |
| Erickson, Fred. Fred and Augusta E. Erickson papers, 1904, 1942-1946. |
| Leaving certificate from the folk school in Åmål, Sweden (1904) and naturalization certificate (1944) for Fred Erickson (in Sweden Fridolf Noaksson Skallebyn). The papers also include: an adult education completion certificate (1942) for citizenship course in the Minneapolis Public Schools; a naturalization certificate (1945) for his wife, Augusta Emilia Erickson; and a letter (1946) from Hubert H. Humphrey, mayor of Minneapolis, congratulating Augusta upon becoming a citizen. |
| Hall, Shadrach Azariah. Shadrach Azariah Hall and family papers, 1858-1911 (bulk 1858-1865). |
| Family histories (undated and 1911) and correspondence (1858-1884) principally of Shadrach A. Hall and his brothers and sisters. The histories include a typed reminiscence by Frank W. Hall (undated) and a printed history of the Hall-Knapp families, co-edited by Leona Hall. The correspondence concerns family matters, especially in the area of Medina (Wis.), and later in Yellow Medicine County (Minn.). The correspondents include: Shadrach A. Hall's classmates and colleagues at Wesleyan Seminary (Eau Claire, Wis.); a letter (November 14, 1863) describing economic conditions in Virginia City, Idaho Territory; and other letters (1864) to Benjamin Green Hall describing life as a school teacher near Petersburg (Va.). |
| Hedin, Oscar Emil. Hedin family papers, 1903-1993. |
| Photocopies of articles (1901-1903) written by Oscar Emil Hedin (1877-1917) for the Svenska Amerikanska Posten concerning Swedish emigration, Swedish-American news, and promotion of the newspaper. Also included are translations of the articles by Marlin L. Heise (undated), a biography of Hedin, and a newspaper clipping (1940) regarding the newspaper's cessation of publication. The papers also consist of news clippings, photographs, correspondence, speeches, and biographies of doctors involved with the Interstate Clinic of Red Wing, founded by Dr. Raymond Freeman Hedin and his wife Elizabeth Anderson Hedin and Dr. Edward H. Juers in 1940. The clinic became Interstate Medical Clinic in 1970 and the Red Wing Medical Center Fairview - University of Minnesota in 1992. In 2012 it became part of the Mayo Clinic Health System. |
| Johnson, Anna Ahlstrom. Anna Ahlstrom Johnson diary, 1934. |
| Diary (January 1-August 20, 1934) of Anna Ahlstrom Johnson, a south Minneapolis (Minn.) housewife, detailing daily activities, family events, and her battles with illness. She ends each entry with a prayer. The diary is accompanied by an unattributed family history (after 1975). |
| Mesabi Iron Company (New York City, N.Y.). Company records, 1914-1953. |
| Reports, correspondence, circulars, and articles (bulk 1920-1925) detailing efforts to develop a process for producing high-grade iron concentrate from taconite by this company incorporated in 1919 for that purpose. |
| National Typographical Union (U.S.). Local No. 42 (Saint Anthony and Minneapolis, Minn.). Charter, 1859. |
| Charter of the National Typographical Union (1859). |
| Stiefel, Ernest Julius. Ernest Julius Stiefel and family papers, 1924-1996. |
| Correspondence (1924-1939) of Emest Julius Stiefel, a St. Paul hardware dealer; papers of his son, Harvey Clark Stiefel (1942-1949); and a clipping (1974) relating to Ernest's daughter, Juliet Stiefel Taube. Ernest J. Stiefel's correspondence provide information on his activities in the St. Paul Community Chest drives and the University of Minnesota Dad's Association. The bulk of the papers consist of World War II related clippings, letters written to parents, photographs, and miscellaneous items of Harvey Stiefel, a sergeant in the 286th Refrigeration Company, 1st Platoon. Harvey's letters detail Army life at the following military training camps and posts: Fort Francis E. Warren (Cheyenne, Wyo); Camp Barkeley (Texas); and camps in San Bernardino and Los Angeles (Calif.) (August 1942-November 1943). The letters also describe his service experiences in Australia (December 1943- January 1944), New Guinea (February 1944-January 1945), the Philippine Islands (January-November 1945), and a post-War letter written from the Veterans Hospital of Minneapolis (1949). |
| Strickon, Beryl Josephine. Beryl Josephine Strickon and family papers, 1941-1952 (bulk 1941-1945). |
| Letters and cards (1941-1945) received by Beryl Josephine Zimmerman (later Strickon) from soldiers serving in various locations; letters and cards (1941-1945, 1952) received by Frank Karl Strickon while in the U.S. Army Air Forces; photographs and promotional items (1945) from New York City restaurants; minutes (1941-1942) and miscellaneous papers (1941-1942) of the Fort Snelling Jewish Soldiers' Group; and certificates (1949) of Beryl's father, Abraham Zimmerman as a 32nd degree master of the Duluth Consistory of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite and as a Noble of the Mystic Shrine of the Imperial Council of the Ancient Arabic Order and a photograph of Imperial Council's Diamond Jubilee Celebration parade in Chicago (1949). |
