State Archives Collection

A wide variety of functions and topics, useful for a breadth of research topics, are represented in records added to the State Archives this month.  The tribal relations files received from the Natural Resources Department are especially valuable because of the content, comprehensiveness and lengthy date span.  The other records continue existing record series, many dating from the 1970s, preserved in the State Archives.

• Agricultural Society.  Century farm applications, dated 2025, which continue a set dating from 1976 http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/gr00094.xml.  The applications will be digitized and posted online.  3 folders.
• Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure Board.  2021 terminated campaign finance files for principal campaign committees, political committees and funds; economic interest statements for 2021 public officials terminations; annual report dated FY 2020; lobbyist summary dated 2021; campaign finance summaries dated 2019-2020.  Continue existing records series dating from the 1970s. The Board, the first of its kind in the nation, was originally known as the Ethical Practices Board.  7 boxes.
• Legislative Auditor.  Audit reports of the Financial Audits Division, program evaluation reports of the Program Evaluation Division, and a special review report; dated 2024-2025.  Continue existing record series dating from the 1970s.  1 box.
• Municipal Board.  The Board acts on all boundary adjustments between a city and the adjacent land, and rules on incorporations of cities.  The function is now managed by the Municipal Boundary Adjustment Unit of the Office of Administrative Hearings.  Annexation files dated 2012-2021, detachment files dated 2012-2021, incorporation files dated 2014-2021, and orderly annexation files dated 1972-2021.  Orderly annexations are a different type of annexation involving joint agreements between cities and townships. The Board first started doing orderly annexations in the early 1970s; these files started out as regular annexations but the cities and townships settled their dispute by doing an orderly annexation agreement.  The files continue record series dating from the 1950s.  Municipal Board agency history.  98 boxes.
• Natural Resources Department.  Tribal relations files dated approximately 1978-2013.  Documents gathered from several Natural Resources Department offices concerning a wide variety of interactions between the Department and Minnesota’s tribal bands;  transferred by the Department’s library.  Included are legal documents, memos, correspondence, news releases, meeting minutes, reports; and copies of news clippings, case law, treaties, and U.S. House and Senate proceedings.  The copies of case law, treaties, and U.S. House and Senate proceedings may be dated earlier than 1978, with some documents dating from 1842.  A spreadsheet listing the documents accompanied the records and will be posted when the records are cataloged allowing easier access to the records.  8 boxes.

Ramsey County.  District Court.  Coroner’s certificates dated 1970-1981 (incomplete) which continue an existing set of records dating from 1901.  Information includes name, cause of death, location of the deceased, and corresponding civil case file number.  These records are useful for family history research, and the State Archives collection preserves similar records for most of Minnesota’s 87 counties.  4 boxes.

A variety of research topics and important Minnesota government functions are represented in records added this month to the State Archives collection.  The Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience and Interior Design Board transferred records dated 1921-2015;  the records complement a set of the Board’s records dating from 1921 preserved in the collection.  The Board regulates the professions, as noted in the Board’s name, and enforces Minnesota statutes and rules to protect the health, safety and welfare of the Minnesota public.  The records are also useful for family history research.

The family of Thaddeus Surber, via staff at the Natural Resources Department/Fisheries Section regional office in New Ulm, transferred records of Mr. Surber, who was a zoologist and ichthyologist, managed the Duluth hatchery for the period 1914-1916 as well as other state hatcheries. The Game and Fish Department was a predecessor of the Natural Resources Department.  Mr. Surber was also a biologist and Superintendent of Fish Propagation for the Department for the period 1917-1937.  Topics in the records include hatcheries’ statistics, commercial fishing, fish culture, and an extensive report about the Pine County lakes, streams and birds written by Mr. Surber in 1918-1919.  The records are valuable to document how the state has protected Minnesota's natural environment which is a collecting priority of the State Archives.

Minnesota has been a leader in promoting and supporting charter schools but, unfortunately, they often have to close for a number of reasons.  Soon after closing in 2024, staff of the SAGE (Students Achieving Global Excellence) Academy charter school transferred administrative files (undated, 2001-2004), including awards and certificates, bylaws, financial reports and management letters, and related records.  Located in Brooklyn Park, the charter school opened its doors in 2002 with the purpose to create a new type of high school, focused on diversity and global education, to serve the community.  The school  provided a personalized learning experience founded in experimental learning.   The records are useful to help document the functioning of charter schools, and for the history of education in Minnesota.

• Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience and Interior Design Board.  Records dated 1921-2015, including registers of certified professionals (1967-1993), lists of registrants (1921-1949, 1993-2005), subject files (1921-1996), published reports and records (1955-2015).  3 boxes.
• Game and Fish Department.  Records of Thaddeus Surber, undated and 1918-1933, including correspondence and subject files.  1 box
• Hennepin County. Students Achieving Global Excellence (SAGE) Academy charter school administrative files, undated, 2001-2004.  1 box.

Many of the records added this month to the State Archives collection are valuable for  family and local history research, and always of great importance for genealogical  research are vital records.  Records received from the Olmsted County History Center (OCHC) include birth and death records (dated 1871-1940) for the City of Rochester, the Village of Stewartville (1930-1943), and Haverhill Township (1880s-1921).  The City of Rochester and Haverhill Township records complement existing records preserved in the collection.

Also received from the OCHC are postcards dated approximately 1905-1920, and addressed to Dr. Arthur Kilbourne or Dr. Laura Linton at the Rochester State Hospital.  The postcard messages inquire about the condition and status of patients residing at the hospital, noting presents or packages being sent separately, thanking the doctors for their care of former patients, and general greetings.  The postcards give a glimpse of the concerns and inquiries the patients’ families made about persons residing at the hospital, and complement other records of the Hospital which is well-documented in the collection.

Useful for determining the general topography and street elevations in the City of St. Paul are street profile maps which are undated, but probably date from the 1880s.  The maps illustrate, in a sense, “the lay of the land” early in the history of the downtown area’s development and growth.

The Accountancy Board transferred records which help document its functions of protecting the public through the regulation of the accounting practice, ensuring standards of competency, and enforcing the laws, rules and standards governing the accountancy practice.  The records complement other records of the Board in the collection.

• Accountancy Board.  Register of certified public accountants dated 1909-1976, receipt and disbursement registers dated 1910-1976, and a list of certified public accountants dated 1980-1981.  1 box.
• Olmsted County.  Birth and death records dated 1871-1943.  9 boxes.
• Ramsey County.  St. Paul (city).  St. Paul street profile maps, undated [approximately 1880s).  29 oversize sheets.
• Rochester State Hospital.  Postcards dated approximately 1905-1920.  1 folder.

Many of the records added this month to the State Archives collection are valuable for family and local history research.  The Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County transferred records of Kurtz Township, dated 1892-1977, including town record books/clerk’s books, treasurer’s books, road record book, birth and death records, and other records.  The historical society also transferred McDonald Home Hospital (Barnesville) registers dated 1931-1939.  The maternity hospital registers inter-file with the existing set of maternity hospital registers, dated 1918-1958, preserved in the State Archives collection.  And the City of Maple Lake (Wright County) transferred justice court dockets dated 1888-1939 and 1959, and birth and death records dated 1893-1953. 

Important functions of Minnesota state government are documented with the transfer of House of Representatives House Bills dated 2021-2022;  the house bills continue the existing set dating from 1957.  The Revisor of Statutes transferred rules and regulations (photocopies), dated 1945-1980, concerning the Social Security Department/Social Welfare Division, and its successor the Public Welfare Department.  The records complement the Secretary of State’s set of rules and regulations, dated 1933-1991, preserved in the State Archives collection.

• Clay County.  Kurtz Township.  Records dated 1892-1977.  2 boxes.
• Health Department.  Hospital Services Division.  McDonald Home Hospital (Barnesville) registers dated 1931-1939. 1 box.
• Legislature.  House of Representatives.  House bills dated 2021-2022.  57 boxes.
• Revisor of Statutes.  Rules and regulations (photocopies) dated 1945-1980. 2 boxes.
• Wright County.  Maple Lake (village/city).  Records dated 1888-1959.  1 box.

Primary sources valuable for conducting family and local history research are a strength of the State Archives collection, and records added this month are welcome additions.

• Clay County. Auditor.  Tax lists dated 2000-2001.  The records continue the existing set http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/gr00372.xml, dating from 1872, preserved in the State Archives.  15 boxes.
• War Records Commission. World War I soldiers’ photographs dated 1916-1940.  Over 400 black and white photographs that inter-file with the existing set of photographs preserved in the collection http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/gr00131.xml.  The photographs include the geographic location where the enlistment occurred and, often, biographical information can be found on the reverse of the soldier’s photographs.  Once the photographs are cataloged, they will be digitized by our archival digitization staff and included with the existing set of photographs available online.  2 small boxes.

Collecting and preserving local government records with permanent historical value is a strength of the State Archives collection, and records added this month enhance that strength.  The transferred records will be especially useful for local and family history research. 

The Cottonwood County Recorder transferred permanent pupil cards (dated 1916-1960s) and pupil census cards compiled in the 1960s of the now defunct county Superintendent of Schools;  complement other records of the office preserved in the State Archives collection.  Also transferred are birth, death and marriage records (dated 1946-1981) on microfilm (positive use copies and duplicate negatives).  The Royalton Township (Pine County) Clerk transferred burial and corpse transportation permits dated 1907-1949 and 1959;  complement the township’s birth and death records, dated 1880-1953, preserved in the collection.  And the Grey Cloud Island Township (Washington County) Clerk transferred planning commission meeting minutes dated 2001-2022;  complement the township’s records, dated 1899-2022, preserved in the collection.

Programmatic evaluation reports and financial audits (dated 1977-2023) of the Office of the Legislative Auditor preserved in the collection are valuable for documenting key functions, policies and activities of Minnesota state government.  The Office transferred correspondence of the Legislative Audit Commission chairs, dated 1984-2016, that complement these records.

• Cottonwood County.  Permanent pupil cards (dated 1916-1960s) and pupil census cards compiled in the 1960s of the now defunct county Superintendent of Schools.  Birth, death and marriage records (dated 1946-1981) on microfilm.  5 boxes.
• Legislative Audit Commission.  Correspondence of the Legislative Audit Commission chairs dated 1984-2016.  1 folder.
• Pine County.  Royalton Township.  Burial and corpse transportation permits dated 1907-1949 and 1959.  1 folder.
• Washington County.  Grey Cloud Island Township.  Planning Commission meeting minutes dated 2001-2022.  1 folder.

Records added this month to the State Archives collection are useful to document a number of important state and local government functions, and also are valuable for family and local history research.  The City of Maple Plain transferred village/city council minute books dated 1912-2012; planning commission minute books dated 1962-2012; civil and criminal docket books dated 1929-1962; birth and death records dated 1907, 1912-1952; village treasurer and village clerk financial records dated 1912-1946; ordinance record dated 1912-1983.  These are the first records the State Archives has received from the city, and are valuable for local and family history research.

Staff of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System transferred Board of Trustees minutes, dated July 1995-December 2008, which continue a set of minutes of the now defunct State University Board.  Also, State Board of Vocational-Technical Education minutes dated August 1983-June 1995 which fill in gaps and complement the existing set of minutes in the State Archives.  The law creating the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System was passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 1991 and went into effect July 1, 1995. The law merged the state's community colleges, technical colleges and state universities into one system. Instead of three separate governing boards and three chancellors, there is now one board and one chancellor for the entire system.  Valuable for documenting the governance of the state colleges and universities system, these records are a welcome addition to the State Archives.

Natural Resources Department staff transferred off highway vehicle (OHV) management program files, dated 1977-2012 (bulk dated 1999-2012), concerning the regulation and use of all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, dirt bikes and other off highway vehicles on state forest lands and other public lands.  Include correspondence, memoranda, reports and white papers, planning and development documents, position papers, newspaper clippings (photocopies), maps, and legal documents (copies).  A collecting priority of the State Archives is documenting how the State of Minnesota protects the natural environment, and these records help fulfill that priority.

MNHS Development and Membership Department staff coordinated the donation of records of the Horace Mann School and Edgcumbe School (St. Paul School District) which include scrapbooks, class photographs and PTA Board meeting minutes dated 1931-2007.  The records complement existing records of the two schools preserved in the State Archives.  The Steele County District Court transferred corpse transportation permits, dated 1957, for remains of soldiers who died outside of Minnesota and returned home for reburial.  Also, an Ellendale Township burial permit dated 1948, and Owatonna (city) burial permits dated 1946-1953.  The corpse transportation permits filed with the District Court complement similar permits (dated 1948-1949) for the remains of soldiers who died overseas during World War II, and the burial permits for the City of Owatonna complement the the city’s set of birth and death records (dated 1871-1953) preserved in the State Archives.  These records will be useful for local and family history research.

August 2024 Acquisitions

• Hennepin County. Maple Plain (village/city). Records, dated 1907, 1912-2012. 4 boxes.
• Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. Minutes dated 1983-2008. 2 boxes.
• Natural Resources Department. Trails and Waterways Division. Off highway vehicle management program files, dated 1977-2012 (bulk dated 1999-2012). 1 box.
• Ramsey County. Independent School District No. 625 (St. Paul). Horace Mann School scrapbooks, and subject files including class photographs dated 1931-2007. Edgcumbe School records, dated 1931-1975, including PTA board meeting minutes, class photographs and scrapbooks. 8 boxes.
• Steele County. District Court. Burial and corpse transportation permits dated 1946-1953, 1957. 5 folders. 

A wide range of topics and functions are represented in state and local government records added to the State Archives collection this month.  The records will be useful to document important functions and governance of the Minnesota government, and will be valuable for family and local history research.  The Gambling Control Board transferred meeting minutes and agenda packets dated 2000-2010, and issues of Gaming News (newsletter) dated 2008-2020.  The records continue existing records, dating from 1984, preserved in the State Archives collection.  The Board regulates the state’s charitable gambling industry (pull-tabs, raffles, bingo, paddlewheels, tip boards) which is the largest in the country. 

The Secretary of State’s Office transferred Session Laws dated 2024 that continue the existing set dating from 1858.  These are the acts of the Minnesota Legislature as passed in each year's legislative session including resolutions and concurrent resolutions of the Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate. Laws of a permanent nature are subsequently incorporated in the Minnesota Statutes that are coded laws. The Laws of Minnesota include uncoded laws, including appropriations, proposed constitutional amendments, local laws, and effective date sections.  Each Session Law includes original signatures of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, President of the Senate, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives, Secretary of the Senate, Governor, Revisor of Statutes, and Secretary of the State.

City of Elk River staff transferred Elk River Township meeting minutes dated 1907-1976 and a road record book dated 1877-1939;  Village/City of Elk River board minutes dated 1890-1968.  The records complement Elk River Township records, dating from 1883, preserved in the collection.  The Green Isle Community School (Sibley County) transferred board of directors meeting minutes and agenda packets, and subject files dated 2004-2024.  During the period 2004-2005 the organization and development of the Green Isle Community School occurred, with the school opening in September 2005.  The kindergarten to grade six charter school was a tuition free public school serving students from the surrounding cities of Arlington, Belle Plaine, Gaylord, Hamburg, Henderson and Norwood Young America.  The school’s mission statement was to foster a positive and respectful multiage environment that promoted education excellence, service learning, community connections, and responsible citizenship.  The school closed effective July 1, 2024. Grey Cloud Island Township (Washington County) transferred board meeting minutes dated 2001-2022 which complement an existing set of records dating from 1899.

July 2024 Acquisitions

• Gambling Control Board.  Meeting minutes and agenda packets dated 2000-2010, and issues of Gaming News (newsletter) dated 2008-2020.  2 boxes.
• Secretary of State.  Session laws dated 2024.   6 boxes.
• Sherburne County.  City of Elk River.  Records dated 1877-1976.  2 boxes.
• Sibley County.  Green Isle Community School (School District No. 4144-07).  Board of directors meeting minutes and agenda packets, and subject files dated 2004-2024.  3 boxes.
• Washington County.  Grey Cloud Island Township.  Board meeting minutes dated 2001-2022 which complement an existing set of records dating from 1899.  1 box.

Records of Minnesota government operated institutions, such as state and municipal hospitals, tuberculosis sanatoria, veterans homes, nursing homes, prisons and reformatories are a collecting strength of the State Archives collection.  This month the records added to the collection greatly enhance that strength and will be useful to document the governance, policies and procedures of the institutions, and are valuable for local and family history research.  The Gale Family Library website has a particularly useful research guide concerning institutional records https://libguides.mnhs.org/institutions.

Staff at the Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center had gathered a large quantity and variety of records for several years from other regional treatment centers (formerly known as state hospitals), and contacted State Archives staff for assistance.  Records, dated 1880-2013, of several state hospitals (Anoka, Brainerd, Cambridge, Fergus Falls, Rochester, St. Peter) were transferred which complement and continue existing sets of records preserved in the collection.  The records include patient index cards, patient photos and selected patient records (incomplete), subject files and published records.  Since the 1980s all of the state hospitals have either closed or significantly downsized but, fortunately, they are  well-documented in the State Archives. 

Minneapolis Veterans Home staff transferred meeting minutes (dated 1987-2000) of the admission, care planning, infection control, interfacility and intrafacility forms, quality improvement, registered nurse supervisor, and tardive dyskinesia committees.  The records complement records dating from 1887 when the Minnesota Soldiers Home, as it was previously known as, was established.

Staff of the Hastings Veterans Home transferred meeting minutes (dated 2016-2019) of the admissions and utilization review committees.  The Hastings Veterans Home opened on May 4, 1978 after the Hastings State Hospital, in the same location, closed in early 1978.  The hospital opened in 1900 and is well documented in the State Archives.

June 2024 Acquisitions

• Human Services Department.  Records of state hospitals (Anoka, Brainerd, Cambridge, Fergus Falls, Rochester, St. Peter), dated 1880-2013.   14 boxes.
• Minnesota Soldiers Home (now known as the Minneapolis Veterans Home).  Committees’ meeting minutes dated 1987-2000. 1 box.
• Veterans Affairs Department.  Hastings Veterans Home.  Committees’ meeting minutes dated 2016-2019.  5 folders.

State and local government records added this month to the State Archives collection document a variety of functions and activities, and will be valuable for a wide range of research topics.  

Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board staff transferred records that continue existing sets of records preserved in the State Archives collection. Included are campaign finance files (dated 2018-2020) for terminated principal campaign committees, political committees, political funds and party units; economic interest statements (dated 2018-2020) for terminated public officials and agencies.  Also, campaign finance files for terminated political action committees (dated 2012-2013) that inter-file with an existing record series;  annual reports (dated 2018-2019);  lobbyist summaries (dated 2018-2019);  and campaign finance summaries (dated 2017-2018).  The Board https://cfb.mn.gov/, previously known as the Ethical Practices Board, established in 1974, was the first of its kind in the country.  

A donor, and former student in the Edina school district, donated a variety of records that document student life and activities in the Edina schools.  The records complement Edina school district governance records (dated 1869-2000) preserved in the State Archives.  Included are directories, school newsletters and newspapers, programs, poetry booklets, memory books and yearbooks (dated 1976-1989), for the Creek Valley and Highlands elementary schools, Valley View Junior High School, and Edina High School. http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/gr02713.xml

The Mille Lacs County Historical Society transferred from its collections the Princeton (village/city) birth and death register dated 1900-1907.  The bound volume pre-dates the village’s birth and death records preserved in the State Archives http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/gr01657.xml.  

The Grey Cloud Island Township clerk transferred records (dated circa 1910s-2018), including township newsletters, petitions, and planning commission meeting minutes.  The records complement the township’s records, dating from 1899, preserved in the State Archives:  http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/gr01170.xml

• Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board.  Records dated 2012-2013 and 2018-2020.  29 boxes.
• Hennepin County.  Independent School District No. 273 (Edina).   Records dated 1976-1989.  2 boxes.
• Mille Lacs County.  Princeton (village/city).  Birth and death register dated 1900-1907.  1 bound volume.  
• Washington County. Grey Cloud Island Township.  Records dated circa 1910s-2018.  5 folders.

Government records added this month to the State Archives will be useful for a variety of research topics, and document key functions and activities at the state and local level.

Minnesota State Fair staff transferred Century Farm applications, dated 2024, that continue an existing set dating from 1976 which has been digitized http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/gr00094.xml; this new acquisition will also be digitized.  The application forms are from residents who wished to have their farms declared century farms, signifying that the farm had been in the same family for 100 or more years. For the 2024 year there were 97 honorees. The applications provide biographical and genealogical information and ownership history of the farm, and some include additional supporting documentation and/or reminiscences. This was begun as a joint project between the State Fair and Farmer magazine; later the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation became the co-sponsor. Beginning in 2009, sesquicentennial (150 years) farms’ applications are included in the set.

Received from the Health Department/Environmental Health Division are Well Program Management records concerning the department’s regulation of well drillers and pump installers. Include meeting minutes, reports, correspondence and memoranda. As part of the program some cities and counties (local delegation) had a delegation agreement with the department to issue permits and rules, collect fees, and provide well code enforcement.  In 1995 the department placed a moratorium on any new well program delegations, and local delegation workgroups evaluated the local programs and recommended changes to the program. 

Meeker County staff transferred agenda packets, dated 1987-2023, of the Board of County Commissioners.  The records are valuable to document the governance of the county, particularly its key functions, major activities, policies and decisions. 

• Agricultural Society.  Century farm applications dated 2024.  4 folders.
• Health Department.  Environmental Health Division.  Well Management Program.  Records dated 1990-2018. 1 box.
• Meeker County.  Board of Commissioners.  Agenda packets dated 1987-2023.