Recent State Archives Acquisitions: December 2012
Background Information
A variety of topics are represented in the government records added this month to the State Archives.
State Education Board examinations questions and scoring keys (dated 1894-1928) were transferred from the Library Collection, with the cooperation of the Collections Management Department, and fill in gaps in a master set (dated 1892-1955) preserved in the State Archives. The examinations and scoring keys are for elementary (grades 7 and 8) and high school subjects ranging from American History to Zoology.
With the assistance of the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) staff, records documenting the construction of bridges during the Great Depression were transferred. Added to the State Archives collection are W.P.A. (Works Project Administration) bridge plans and correspondence (dated 1917-1942; bulk dated 1930s). Building bridges to improve the nation’s infrastructure was one of the federal government’s New Deal initiatives to recover from the Great Depression. The W.P.A. worked with county highway engineers to produce these bridge plans which were then approved by the Minnesota Highway Department. Many, if not all, of the bridges represented in the plans were built, and extant bridges continue to have historical and architectural significance. Some of the bridges were designed by the steel products firm, Paper Calmenson and Co. (PACAL), of St. Paul, Minnesota. Except for nine counties, all of Minnesota’s 87 counties are represented in this unique set of records. The bridge plans are for such bridge types as: timber stringer, I-beam, concrete arch, stone masonry arch, and Combination Bridge and dam. Included is correspondence regarding bridge construction between the Highway Department and the W.P.A., the county highway departments, and the Minnesota Conservation Department.
Collecting and preserving records of the Minnesota state legislature is a priority of the State Archives, and this month House Bills (dated 1991-1992) and Senate Bills (dated 2009-2010) were transferred. These are the original House and Senate Bills acted upon in the House of Representatives and the Senate, and include advisories, resolutions and concurrent resolutions, along with any successive versions and engrossments.
Especially useful for family and local history research are school records, and the Mounds View school district transferred records (dated 1937-1968). Included are school censuses, teachers’ annual reports, PTA records (meeting minutes, summary financial records, correspondence, scrapbook items) for several of the schools located in the district, including Irondale, Lake Johanna, and Spring Lake Park. The records inter-file with an existing set of Mounds View school district records already preserved in the State Archives.
The 2012 presidential election occurred two months ago, but the Minnesota Electoral College Assembly took place in the State Capitol on December 17, 2012. The Secretary of State’s office transferred records documenting the event, including the original certificate of ascertainment, elector ballots for President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, photographs of the 10 Minnesota electors and 8 alternate electors, a news release, and a ballpoint pen of the type used to complete the ballots. The records continue an existing set already preserved in the State Archives.
Closed (completed) decision files (dated 2009) of the Tax Court were transferred, and continue an existing set, dating from 1939, preserved in the State Archives collection. The Tax Court, an independent agency within the state Revenue Department, has the power to review and redetermine orders or decisions of the Commissioner of Revenue upon appeal. Appeals may be made with respect to taxes, fees, or assessments, by an affected person, political subdivision of the state, or by the attorney general on behalf of the state.
Acquisitions
1. Education Department. State board examinations (dated 1894-1928) questions and scoring keys. 3 volumes.
2. Highway Department/Bridge Division. W.P.A. bridge plans and correspondence (dated 1917-1942; bulk dated 1930s). 3 boxes.
3. Legislature. House of Representatives. House Bills (dated 1991-1992). 32 boxes.
4. Legislature. Senate. Senate Bills (dated 2009-2010). 16 boxes.
5. Ramsey County. Independent School District No. 621 (Mounds View) Records (dated 1937-1968). 2 boxes.
6. Secretary of State. Minnesota Electoral College records (dated December 17, 2012). 1 folder.
7. Tax Court. Closed (completed) decision files (dated 2009), that continue an existing set, dating from 1939, preserved in the State Archives collection. 4 boxes.
Back to Recent Acquisitions.
January 3, 2013
