What's New

NHPRC Basic Project Grant

This month we highlight a collection containing approximately 800 born-digital files created by the Governor's Citizen Advisory Commission on Redistricting from 2000-2002. These records include congressional and legislative district plans, population and voting data, maps, reports, and GIS shapefiles that can be downloaded from the collection's inventory.

Download Icon Look for the download icon in the list below to spot the inventory to these records from the Redistricting Commission.


With one month left in our NHPRC Basic Project, we can report that we've already added more than 750 acquisitions totaling over 4,250 cubic feet and 50,000 micro-formats.


In addition to the number of collections we have been able to complete with support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), we are especially grateful that this project has also helped us explore how to process and catalog born-digital materials.


Finding Aid Statistics

Learn more about how the NHPRC helps preserve and promote public access to records of historical value.



New and Revised Finding Aids - May 2012

Name/Abstract File No.
Arts Board: An Inventory of Its Administrative Files at the Minnesota Historical Society gr00569
Reports, correspondence and other records documenting the administration of the board and its predecessors, the state art commission and society.
Arts Board: An Inventory of Its Annual and Biennial Reports at the Minnesota Historical Society gr00570
Incomplete set of reports of the State Art Society (1904-1912, 1948-1949), the State Arts Council (1970-1975), and the State Arts Board (1976-2002).
Arts Board: An Inventory of Its Grant Files at the Minnesota Historical Society gr00571
Grant files (1966-Fiscal Year 2007), containing grant applications, requests for information, proposals, resumes, correspondence, final grant reports, financial statements, agreements, budgets, and related materials. Also includes survey files (1966-1967), containing returns of a survey of existing cultural organizations and a facility (building) survey.
Arts Board: An Inventory of Its Grant Review Files at the Minnesota Historical Society gr00572
Panel books (summary records) of grant applications and minutes of the Board's review panel for dance, film and video, literary arts, music, theatre, and visual arts. Includes applications for individual artist fellowships, production assistance, sponsor assistance, artists in education, and regional arts development plan assistance; regional arts development plans; rules and regulations; and staff reviews (1978). The summary records were printed or otherwise duplicated and spiral bound for distribution to applicants, regional arts councils, and possibly others. Also panel review meeting files beginning in Fiscal Year 2000.
Arts Board: An Inventory of Its Program Grant Administrative Files at the Minnesota Historical Society gr00573
Records of the Board's program directors, including correspondence and memoranda, grant materials, and review committee records. Programs include artists in education, general support, individual artist program, operating support, regional programs, folkarts, and Percent for Art in Public Places, and various special programs funded by the McKnight Foundation, the Northwest Area Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Auditor: An Inventory of Its Municipal Financial Statements audit014
Financial statements (some in the form of newspaper clippings) and independent audit reports of Minnesota cities.
Lawrence Charles Boyes: An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society 01060
Portrait of Lawrence BoyesDiary, correspondence and miscellaneous papers including identification cards and citations, gunnery school notes, photographs, and a scrapbook documenting Boyes' service with the 151st Field Artillery Unit (and, later, the 63rd Signal Operating Battalion during World War II, including training at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, and service in North Ireland, England, North Africa, and Italy, and his association with the 63rd Signal Battalion Reunion Association.
William R. Brown: An Inventory of His Family Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society 01005
Diaries and notebooks, ledgers and account books, genealogical papers, correspondence, photographs, and other papers of Brown, a farmer near Newport (Washington County, Minn.), and relatives from the McDonald, Hoyt, Johnson, and Scofield families. The diaries discuss pioneer farm activities, social life, and legal affairs in the St. Croix Valley and Brown's Civil War service with the Sixth Minnesota Infantry.
Bush Foundation: An Inventory of its Records at the Minnesota Historical Society 00016
Grant files and other records of a St. Paul-based nonprofit foundation, incorporated in 1953 with an endowment from 3M executive Archibald G. Bush, that provides grants to charitable, scientific, literary, musical, educational, and arts organizations located
Commerce Department: Insurance Division: An Inventory of Its Insurance Companies' Annual Financial Statements at the Minnesota Historical Society gr00182
Annual financial statements of insurance companies, township mutuals, mutual hail and cyclone companies, and assessment, life, fraternal, and casualty companies.
Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1861-1865. Minnesota Dept. Helen M. Shaw Tent #15 (St. Paul, Minn.): An Inventory of Its Records at the Minnesota Historical Society 01056
Minutes, financial records, and membership records of the Helen M. Shaw Tent #15 of the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War 1861-1865, Minnesota Department, as well as a few records of the Minnesota Department (1949-1958) and of the national organization (1939-1958).
Education Department: Annual Reports of County Superintendents of Schools. educ011
Summary data on enrollment, attendance, teachers, and finances for all school districts in each county.
Gale Family: An Inventory of Their Family Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society 00319
Family history materials, reminiscences, diaries, scrapbooks, correspondence, poems, and photographs detailing the activities of four related families: Gale, Lindley, Jones, and Burton.
Sandra S. Gardebring: An Inventory of Her Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society 01050
Sandra S. Gardebring Biographical information, clippings, correspondence, news releases, photographs, schedules, subject files, campaign files, speeches, and other miscellaneous papers of Sandra S. Gardebring, an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court (1991-1998), judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals (1989-1991), commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (1977-1978 and 1982-1984), chair of the Metropolitan Council (1984-1986), and commissioner of the Department of Human Services (1986-1989).
The Garden Club of Ramsey County: An Inventory of Its Records at the Minnesota Historical Society 00637
Constitutions and bylaws, minutes, correspondence, membership directories, events and program files, newspaper clippings, committee reports, histories, and financial records of a garden club located in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Gillette Hospital: An Inventory of Its Admission Registers gillet03
Admission information for children treated at the Gillette State Hospital for Crippled Children and its predecessor, the State Hospital for Crippled and Deformed Children.
Governor's Citizen Advisory Commission on Redistricting: An Inventory of Its Records gr00558
Download IconRecords documenting the activities of this citizen advisory commission formed to review proposed redistricting plans developed by the Legislature (for both congressional and legislative districts) and to provide advice to the Governor's Office about those plans.

Includes digital content.
Henry B. Hall: An Inventory of His Photographs at the Minnesota Historical Society sv000143
Views of buildings, residences, and street scenes in St. Paul and Minneapolis. Printed from original negatives (4x5 in. and 35 mm.) in the Minnesota Historical Society's collections. Contact prints of all negatives are included in the collection and 191 selected frames were printed.
Charles N. Hewitt and Family: An Inventory of Their Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society 01051
Correspondence, diaries, call lists, accounts, and other papers of Charles N. Hewitt, a noted physician, and first secretary of the Minnesota State Board of Health. Charles N. Hewitt also served as a surgeon with the 50th New York Infantry in the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. Papers of his son Edwin provide biographical, genealogical, and family data.
Houston County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Civil Case Files at the Minnesota Historical Society gr00578
Files numbered I-CCCLXXVI and 1-8445.
Houston County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Criminal Case Files at the Minnesota Historical Society gr00579
Files numbered I-LX and 1-862.
Houston County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Minutes at the Minnesota Historical Society gr00583
Records of documents files, proceedings held, and actions taken at each day's session of the court.
Houston County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Plaintiff's and Defendant's Indexes at the Minnesota Historical Society gr00580
Plaintiff's and defendant's indexes to District Court civil case files. Entries may include case file number, parties to the case, type of action, date and amount of judgment, and citation to the register of action volume and page number indexed.
Houston County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Record of Oaths and Bonds at the Minnesota Historical Society gr00582
Town, village, and county officials.
Houston County: District Court: An Inventory of Its Registers of Civil Actions at the Minnesota Historical Society gr00581
Registers of actions covering civil case file numbers 1-8518. For each case, the register notes each action taken or document issued or filed, and the date.
Houston County: Probate Court: An Inventory of Its Probate Record Books at the Minnesota Historical Society gr00585
Records of documents filed relating to the administration of estates, insanities, and guardianships, including texts and transcripts of materials found in individual probate case files.
Houston County: Probate Court: An Inventory of Its Register of Actions and Index at the Minnesota Historical Society gr00584
Registers of documents filed and actions taken in each probate case; includes an index to the 1857-1959 files.
Indian Music Society of Minnesota: An Inventory of Its Records at the Minnesota Historical Society 01059
Organizational documents (1980), anniversary history (2005), concert programs, posters, and brochures (1980-2011), press releases (1999-2008), transcripts of seven oral histories (2011), and miscellaneous records of the Indian Music Society of Minnesota.
Intermedia Arts Minnesota: An Inventory of Its Records at the Minnesota Historical Society 00328
Fireworks brochure 1997Historical background information, articles of incorporation, annual reports, long-range plans, minutes of the board and staff, financial records, correspondence, subject files, grant files, show and program files, distribution contracts, press releases, newspaper and magazine clippings, artist information, and numerous printed promotional materials documenting a nonprofit corporation organized in 1973 under the University of Minnesota by the merger of the West Bank Union Video Access Center and the Student Association video project.
Roger I. Johnson: An Inventory of His IMPACE-MEA Papers 00313
Papers compiled by Roger I. Johnson relating to his tenure as chairman of IMPACE-MEA, a bipartisan political action committee associated with the Minnesota Education Association which raised funds and screened candidates for local, state, and national offices.
Cornelia Gjesdal Knutson: An Inventory of Her Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society 00246
Portrait of Coya Knutson, por 11050 p1Congressional files and biographical materials documenting Minnesota's first female member of Congress (Democratic-Farmer-Labor, 1955-1958).
Legislature: Electronic Real Estate Recording Commission: An Inventory of Its Meeting Files at the Minnesota Historical Society gr00561
Meeting files of the Electronic Real Estate Recording Commission [ERERC] (2008-2011), and its predecessor, the Electronic Real Estate Recording Task Force [ERER] (2000-2008).
Lideres Latinos Oral History Project: An Inventory of Its Oral History Interviews at the Minnesota Historical Society oh135
The Minnesota Historical Society and the Chicano Latino Affairs Council formed a partnership to create a major project of oral history interviews with Latino community leaders statewide. The project is intended to help chronicle the history, successes, challenges, and contributions of this diverse and highly important group of Minnesotans. The Latino community is one of the largest and most important in the state, and is particularly noteworthy because its growth has not been confined to the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Interviewed by Lorena Duarte and Ruth Trevino.
Eugene J. McCarthy: An Inventory of His Sound and Visual Materials at the Minnesota Historical Society 00922
Photographs (family, publicity, campaign related, and miscellaneous), negatives, sound reel tapes, sound cassettes, and film reels of campaign spots, speeches, and debates. Also includes film and sound tapes of appearances by Eugene McCarthy on national and local television and radio. Sound and visual materials are arranged by type.
Minnesota's Greatest Generation Oral History Project: An Inventory of Its Oral Histories at the Minnesota Historical Society oh115
This project chronicles the lives of Minnesota men and women through the World War II years. The interviews include the perspectives of war veterans, Japanese-Americans, German citizens, business leaders, and minorities. Some of the subjects discussed include life in wartime Japan; Pearl Harbor; the dropping of the atomic bombs; joining the armed forces; experiences at basic training; postwar life; the real estate market after World War II; childhood activities; growing up during the Great Depression; life in wartime Germany; differences in the war effort between men and women; the GI Bill; the Army Occupation of Europe; reorientation into civilian life; economy of postwar Germany; the Army Occupation of Japan; postwar business ventures; relationships between Japanese and Americans; relationships between Germans and Americans; and the Korean War. Interviewed by Douglas Bekke, James E. Fogerty and Kevin Rofidal.
Miscellaneous Newspapers Collection: An Inventory of Titles on the Miscellaneous Newspaper Microfilm lb00001
Miscellaneous titles and issues of newspapers published chiefly in Minnesota and neighboring states between 1887 and 1904.
Clinton Morrison and Family: An Inventory of Their Papers 01055
Genealogies, photocopied obituaries and memorials, correspondence, family histories, financial records, biographies, speeches, and photographs related to four generations of a prominent Minneapolis family.
Public Service Commission: An Inventory of Its "A" Files pubser06
Supporting dockets of proceedings and orders of the Public Service Commission and to its predecessor, the Railroad and Warehouse Commission.
Public Service Commission: An Inventory of Its Bus and Truck Transcripts ("H" files). pubser16
Transcripts of proceedings of the Public Service Commission and its predecessor, the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, regarding fares, express rates, and services of bus and truck companies.
Public Service Department: An Inventory of Its Motor Carrier Annual Reports pubser15
The majority of these files are motor carrier (regular route) annual reports ("MC" files) for both buses and trucks.
Public Service Department: An Inventory of Its Railroad Annual Reports ("R" Files) pubser13
Annual reports to the Public Service Commission/Department of railroads operating in Minnesota.
George Theron Slade: An Inventory of Papers 01053
Diaries, correspondence, photographs, biographical information, and files related to the railroad work of George T. Slade. The papers include information on Slade's family life and on his relationship to the James J. Hill family, as well as a record book (1924-1941) of wild game killed at the Slade hunting lodge near Harker Lake, Kidder County, North Dakota, and papers relating to the property and its eventual use by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a wildlife refuge.
Stillwater State Prison: An Inventory of Its Case Files (Discharged Inmate Files) at the Minnesota Historical Society gr00206
Correspondence, reports, administrative forms, and related papers documenting the incarceration, parole, and discharge of prisoners at the Minnesota state prison. A prisoner's file may include the admittance record; correspondence with the sentencing court and with relatives; record of the inmate's work, discipline, and other activities while in prison; physician's reports; correspondence with criminal justice agencies in other states; photograph (in later files); and parole reports. Recent files tend to be more fully documented than earlier files.
Supreme Court An Inventory of Its Case Files, General Index, and Briefs of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals at the Minnesota Historical Society gr00088
Materials relating to the proceedings of the trial (lower) courts, filed by the lawyers of parties involved in actions or proceedings in preparation for a hearing with the Supreme Court or (beginning in 1983) the Court of Appeals. They also include the opinions, orders, and judgments generated by these two higher courts.
Edward John Thye: An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society 00538
Correspondence, speeches, background materials, bills and reports, clippings, campaign literature, and related materials reflecting Thye's public and official activities as U.S. senator (Republican) from Minnesota, 1947-1958. A large percentage of the files deal with Thye's constituent relations and services; expressions of Minnesota opinion on matters of national, state, and local interest; and bills introduced or supported by Thye. The remainder concerns legislation, policies, programs, and projects which Congress and the executive branch of the government acted upon during Thye's tenure.

New and Revised Catalog Records - May 2012

Name/Abstract
Blake, Clarence John. Clarence John Blake Letters, 1913-1914.
13 letters written by Blake to his parents and brothers in Minneapolis describing his life in Austin, Minnesota, and his work for Geo. A. Hormel & Co. as an employee of the Secretary's, and later President's, offices.
Cloquet fire witness statements and correspondence, 1918-1921.
Carbon copy excerpts from witness statements concerning the Cloquet fire of 1918 and a letter from Charles E. Adams, Special Counsel, St. Louis County, to W.F. Smith concerning fire litigation. The witness statements include excerpts from testimony from dozens of individuals who suffered losses during the fires; they appear to be correlated to page number, possibly from a trial transcript.
Drury, Vernon L. Letters to Vernon Lee Drury, 1944.
Letters received by Vernon Lee Drury while stationed at the Amarillo Army Air Field in Texas, and at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, mainly from his wife, Sylvia J. Drury, and other family members. The letters detail home front activities of Sylvia in St. Paul and other family members in Henriette, Minnesota.
Eiffler, Jeff. Jeff Eiffler military service letters, 1990-1994.
Letters (May 1990-October 1994) written by Eiffler to his parents in Chisago City (Chisago Co., Minn.) while serving in the U.S. Army Infantry. The letters primarily document his experiences during basic training at Fort Benning, Ga. (1990) and Fort Drum, New York (1991) and foreign postings (1991-1994). The bulk of the letters were written while Eiffler was stationed in Egypt and Israel (1990-1991) as part of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO); Cuba and Haiti (1991-1992, 1994); Panama (1993); and Somalia (1993).
Houston County: District Court: Bar memorials, 1951-1962
Bar memorials for judges Charles A. Dorival (1951), William A. Deters (1952), Vernon Gates (1955), William Flynn (1958), Jensine Miller (1962), and Lloyd L. Duxbury (1962).
Houston County: District Court: Judgment dockets, 1858-1943.
Judgment dockets.
Houston County: District Court: Registers of criminal actions, 1860-1940
Registers of criminal actions; may include date of docket, title of cause, nature of criminal accusation, court, witnesses, disposition of cause, nature and extent of punishment, costs, and fines.
LeDuc, Dorothy. Dorothy LeDuc Diaries, 1940-1971.
Diaries (1940-1944, 1946, 1952, 1954, 1956-1965, 1968-1969, 1971) and address book (undated) of Dorothy LeDuc (1896-1984, New Ulm school teacher, member of Seventh Day Adventist Church, and active in teachers retirement organizations). The diaries describe her personal and professional life during World War II and as a teacher and retiree in Brown and Nicollet counties, Minnesota.
Legislature. Legislative Commission on Health Care Access. Minutes and meetings files.
Minutes and meeting files of this commission established to make recommendations to the legislature on how to achieve the goal of universal health coverage.
Legislature. Legislative Oversight Commission on Health Care Access. Minutes and meetings files.
Minutes and meeting files of this commission established to make recommendations to the legislature on how to achieve the goal of universal health coverage.
Minneapolis Sanitarium. Patient's register, 1917-1961.
Patient's register for the Minneapolis Sanitarium, a small chronic convalescent and nervous sanitarium.
Tarnavsky, Paul J. Paul J. Tarnavsky Papers, 1912-1975.
Correspondence and papers, programs, photographs, and newspaper clippings of and relating to a Russian emigre active in Russian cultural organizations in the Twin Cities in the 1930s, especially the Russian Art Troupe and the Russian Club.

Return to top

Archives - New Finding Aids

« What's New - April 2012

« What's New - March 2012

« What's New - February 2012

« What's New - January 2012

« What's New - December 2011

« What's New - November 2011

« What's New - October 2011

« What's New - September 2011

« What's New - July & August 2011

« What's New - June 2011

« What's New - May 2011

« What's New - April 2011

« What's New - March 2011

« What's New - February 2011

« What's New - January 2011

« What's New - December 2010

« What's New - November 2010

« What's New - October 2010

« What's New - September 2010

« What's New - August 2010

« What's New - July 2010

« Finding Aids


Starting May 31, access to the finding aids search function will be restricted while we perform updates. This work is anticipated to last throughout the summer. For other research options, visit the Finding Aids page.

Use 'ctrl-f' (Mac 'command-f')
to search this page

Contact a Librarian



Online Resources Available in the Library

Contact a Librarian