MINNESOTA WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION:

An Inventory of Its Writers Project Research Notes for the Historical Records Survey at the Minnesota Historical Society

Manuscripts Collection

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Creator: Minnesota Works Progress Administration.
Title:Writers Project Research Notes for the Historical Records Survey, Minnesota Works Progress Administration collection.
Dates:circa 1852-1944.
Language:Materials in English.
Abstract:Inventories of historical records existing in each county in Minnesota, prepared by WPA workers. In many instances, the worker also gathered information about the histories of the units assigned to them and prepared summaries of their findings.
Quantity:45.5 cubic feet (91 boxes).
Location: See Detailed Description for shelf locations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Expand/CollapseCOUNTY RECORDS

Files contain data on storage conditions, manuscripts for county records inventories prepared for publication, and transcripts of proceedings of county commissioners. There are no records for Yellow Medicine County.


LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956233Aitkin County: Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' records, 1873-1940.
Regarding transportation, establishment of the county, officers, relief and welfare.
Anoka County: Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1857-1913. 2 folders.
Becker County:
Data on records housing.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1871-1938.
Manuscript of records inventory. 3 folders.
Beltrami County: Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1894-1897.
Big Stone County: Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1874-1881.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956234Blue Earth County: Extracts from constitution and minutes of the Blue Earth Settlement Claim Association and Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1852-1858.
Brown County:
Data on history of the county, officers, offices, and records housing.
Copies of and extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1856-1930.
There are special sections on officers, county property, transportation, relief and welfare, and outstanding events.
Records inventory forms. 4 folders.
Includes the offices of surveyor, highway engineer, agricultural agent, home demonstration agent, superintendent of schools, county poor farm, treasurer, coroner, sheriff, county attorney, probate court, clerk of court, register of deeds, and auditor (the latter including many departmental records). The forms were never sorted out.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956235Records inventory forms. 4 folders.
Carlton County:
Miscellaneous data on housing and care of records.
Rough copy of inventory of county records. 2 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956236Carver County:
Miscellaneous file including list of county officers and historical sketch with history of establishment of various offices.
Rough copy of inventory of county records. 2 folders.
Cass County: Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1889-1937.
Chippewa County: Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1869-1939. 3 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956237Chisago County:
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1852-1941.
Data on records housing.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
Clay County:
Data on records housing.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956238Clearwater County:
Data on records housing.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1902-1908. 5 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956239Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1908, 1922-1939. 3 folders.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956240Cook County:
Data on records housing.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1882-1934. 2 folders.
Rough copy of county records inventory. 3 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956241Cottonwood County:
Data on records housing.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1870-1919.
Records inventory forms. 2 folders.
Crow Wing County:
Manuscript of county records inventory. 4 folders.
Includes a special section on the Deerwood Sanitarium filed in the last folder. The manuscript is a rough draft and is incomplete.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956242Data on records housing, county offices, and officers and historical sketch.
Hennepin County:
Data on records housing.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
Hubbard County: Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1883-1938.
Isanti County:
Data on records housing and Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1867-1941.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956243Itasca County:
Data on records housing.
Rough draft of county records inventory.
Kanabec County: Clippings from Kanabec County Times, Golden Anniversary Edition, June 28, 1934.
Kandiyohi County:
Data on history of the county and records housing.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1858-1891. 2 folders.
Extracts from Monongalia County Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1867-1869.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956244Kittson County:
Data on the history of county offices, the county, and records housing.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1879-1939.
Rough draft of county records inventory. 3 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956245Koochiching County:
List of the first persons to file for homestead in the county and data on records housing and legal history of the county.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1906-1938. 2 folders.
Rough draft of county records inventory, incomplete. 3 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956246Lac qui Parle County:
Data on records housing and county history.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
Lake County:
Data on records housing.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956247Lake of the Woods County:
Data on records housing and county history.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
Le Sueur County:
Data on records housing and county history.
Manuscript of county records inventory.
Lincoln County: Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1880-1939.
Lyon County:
Data on records housing and county history.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956248McLeod County:
Data on records housing.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1856-1923.
County records inventory forms. 2 folders.
Mahnomen County:
Data on records housing.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
Meeker County: Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1856-1860.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956249Mower County:
Data on records housing.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
Nobles County: Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1872-1921.
Norman County:
Data on records housing.
Extracts from County Board of Commissioners' minutes, 1881-1941.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 1 folder.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956250Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
Olmsted County: Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1855-1938.
Otter Tail County: Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1868-1899.
Pennington County:
Data on records housing.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1909-1938.
Manuscript of county records inventory.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956251Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
Pine County:
Data on records housing and county history.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1871-1944.
Manuscript of county records inventory, incomplete. 2 folders.
Polk County:
Includes records of Columbia County.
Data on records housing and county history.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1872-1939.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956252Manuscript of county records inventory. 3 folders.
Pope County:
Data on records housing.
County records inventory forms.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956253County records inventory forms. 2 folders.
Ramsey County:
Data on records housing and county history.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1849-1859. 2 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956254Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1859-1938. 4 folders.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956255Red Lake County:
Data on records housing.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1896-1938.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 3 folders.
Roseau County:
Data on records housing.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1895-1906.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956256Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1906-1939. 2 folders.
Rough copy of county records inventory. 3 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956257St. Louis County:
Data on records housing in Duluth, Hibbing, and Virginia.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1858-1919. 2 folders.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956258Manuscript of county records inventory. 5 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956259Sibley County:
Data on records housing, county offices, and county history.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
Steele County:
Data on records housing, county offices, and county history.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1857-1938.
Manuscript of county records inventory, incomplete. 3 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956260Stevens County:
Data on records housing and county history.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 3 folders.
Swift County:
Data on records housing.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1871-1900.
Manuscript of county records inventory, incomplete. 1 folder.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956261Manuscript of county records inventory, incomplete. 1 folder.
Todd County:
Data on records housing, county offices and officers, and county history.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 3 folders.
Disorganized. The inventory was evidently organized in number sequence, then shuffled into another sequence. Evidently work ceased before the reorganization was completed.
Wabasha County: Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1858-1936.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956262Wadena County:
Data on records housing, county history and county officers.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1873-1941.
Manuscript of county records inventory.
Waseca County:
Data on records housing, county offices and officers, and county history.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1857-1939. 2 folders.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 1 folder.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956263Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
Watonwan County:
Data on records housing, county offices, and county history.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 2 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956264Wilkin County:
Data on records housing, county offices and officers, and county history.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1873-1940.
Manuscript of county records inventory. 3 folders.
Winona County:
Data on records housing.
Extracts from Board of County Commissioners' minutes, 1853-1882.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956265Manuscript of county records inventory. 4 folders.
Not in final order.
Final Report on Historical Records Survey in Minnesota and Inventory of State Historical Records Survey Files, by Jacob Hodnefield, and related correspondence, April-June 1942. [164 pages.]
This inventory summarizes information in boxes 232-310 of the papers.

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Expand/CollapseTOWNSHIP RECORDS

Jurisdictions are filed alphabetically within each county.


LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956266Aitkin County-Cook County.
No records for Cottonwood County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956267Crow Wing County-Kandiyohi County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956268Kittson County-Murray County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956269Nicollet County-Steele County.
No records for Pine and Pipestone counties.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956270Stevens County-Yellow Medicine County.

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Expand/CollapseCITY, TOWN AND VILLAGE RECORDS

Jurisdictions are filed alphabetically within each county. Note that the use of "town" in this category may mean an unincorporated place, but should not be confused with "township."


LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956270Aitkin County-Chisago County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956271Clay County-Itasca County.
No records for Clearwater County. Cook contains only Grand Marais; Cottonwood contains only Windom.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956272Jackson County-Olmsted County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956273Otter Tail County-St. Louis County.
No records for Pine County. Special folders for St. Louis County include Duluth, Duluth City Planning Department, Duluth City Health Department, and folder 1 of Duluth City Police Department.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956274St. Louis County.
Special folders for St. Louis County include folders 2 and 3 of Duluth City Police Department; Duluth Public Works Division; Duluth Public Safety, Public Affairs, and Public Utilities; Duluth Park Department; Duluth Purchasing Department; Duluth Water and Light; and Duluth Civil Service; also includes the general St. Louis County folder.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956275Scott County-Yellow Medicine County.

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Expand/CollapseSCHOOL DISTRICT RECORDS

School districts are usually filed numerically within each county.


LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956276Aitkin County-Clay County.
No records for Carver County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956277Clay County-Grant County.
No records for Cottonwood, Dakota, Fillmore, and Freeborn counties.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956278Grant County-Kanabec County.
No records for Houston and Jackson counties. Hennepin contains a separate folder for Minneapolis.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956279Kandiyohi County-McLeod County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956280Meeker County-Pennington County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956281Pine County-St. Louis County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956282Sherburne County-Yellow Medicine County.
No records for Scott, Washington and Winona counties.

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Expand/CollapseORGANIZATION RECORDS

LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956283Anoka County.
Becker County.
Big Stone County.
Blue Earth County.
Cass County.
Clay County.
Chippewa County.
Dodge County.
Goodhue County.
Hennepin County.
Hennepin County Unions.
Hubbard County.
Itasca County.
Kittson County.
Koochiching County.
Lac qui Parle County.
Lake of the Woods County.
Le Sueur County.
Lincoln County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956284Marshall County.
Morrison County.
Mower County.
Murray County.
Nicollet County.
Olmsted County.
Pennington County.
Polk County.
Ramsey County.
Red Lake County.
St. Louis County.
Stearns County.
Stevens County.
Swift County.
Todd County.
Traverse County.
Waseca County.

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Expand/CollapseCHURCH RECORDS

LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956285Aitkin County-Benton County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956286Big Stone County-Carver County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956287Cass County-Chippewa County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956288Chippewa County-Cook County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956289Crow Wing County-Faribault County.
Cottonwood missing.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956290Faribault County-Goodhue County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956291Goodhue County-Grant County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956292Hennepin County. 3 folders.
Hennepin County: Minneapolis. 3 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956293Hennepin County: Minneapolis. 6 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956294Hennepin County: Minneapolis. 2 folders.
Houston County-Kandiyohi County.
Houston county includes only 1 item.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956295Kittson County-Mahnomen County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956296Marshall County-Morrison County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956297Morrison County-Norman County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956298Olmsted County-Otter Tail County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956299Pennington County-Pope County.
Ramsey County. 1 folder.
Ramsey County: St. Paul, A-Ce. 1 folder.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956300Ramsey County: St. Paul, Ch-Z. 7 folders.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956301Red Lake County-Roseau County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956302St. Louis County-Scott County.
Includes separate folder for St. Louis County: Duluth.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956303Sherburne County-Swift County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956304Todd County-Watonwan County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956305Wilkin County-Yellow Medicine County.

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Expand/CollapseCEMETERY RECORDS

LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956306Aitkin County-Clearwater County.
No records for Beltrami County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956307Cook County-Kittson County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956308Koochiching County-Olmsted County.
No records for Mille Lacs County or Nobles County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956309Otter Tail County-Scott County.
No records for Rock County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956310Sherburne County-Yellow Medicine County.
No records for Stevens County or Watonwan County.
Private Burials, A-Z.

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Expand/CollapseHISTORIC SITES SURVEY

An inventory of historic sites arranged by county. Includes data on the location of each site, past and present uses, source of information, description, and its history.


LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956311Anoka County.
Becker County.
Blue Earth County.
Brown County.
Cass County.
Chippewa County.
Clay County.
Cook County.
Crow Wing County.
Dakota County.
Dodge County.
Douglas County.
Goodhue County.
Grant County.
Kandiyohi County.
Hennepin County.
Hubbard County.
Kittson County.
Koochiching County.
Lake County.
LeSueur County.
Lincoln County.
Martin County.
McLeod County.
Meeker County.
Mille Lacs County.
Morrison County.
Mower County.
Murray County.
Nicollet County.
Olmsted County.
Otter Tail County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956312Pipestone County.
Polk County.
Pope County.
Red Lake County.
Redwood County.
Renville County.
Rice County.
Roseau County.
St. Louis County.
Scott County.
Sherburne County.
Stearns County.
Stevens County.
Swift County.
Todd County.
Traverse County.
Wabasha County.
Washington County.
Watonwan County.
Wilkin County.
Winona County.
Yellow Medicine County.

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Expand/CollapseHISTORIC BUILDINGS SURVEY

Arranged by county. Includes data on location, name of builder or owner, date of construction, source of information, and history.


LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956313Anoka County-Hennepin County, A-F.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956314Hennepin County, G-R.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956315Hennepin County, S-Z,-Renville County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956316Rice County-Yellow Medicine County.
No records for Washington County.

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Expand/CollapseHISTORICAL MARKERS AND MONUMENTS

Arranged by county. Includes data on location, type of marker, the event commemorated, source of information, and history.


LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956316Aitkin County-Hennepin County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956317Hennepin County-Roseau County.
No records for Ramsey County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956318St. Louis County-Yellow Medicine County.
Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) markers.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956319Abandoned Cemeteries: Aitkin County-Yellow Medicine County.
Private Burials: Aitkin County-Yellow Medicine County.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956320Indian burials.
Indian mounds.
Historic trails.
Abandoned towns and villages.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956321Abandoned towns and villages.
Fort Snelling.
Stained glass windows, plaques, etc.
Historic buildings and sites.

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Expand/CollapseCARD FILES

Each topic is arranged alphabetically by county.


LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956322Historic markers.
Historic trails.
Miscellaneous.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956323Historic buildings.
Abandoned towns.
LocationBox
BC8.1 .W956324Abandoned cemeteries.
Private burials.
Indian burials.
Indian mounds.
Historic sites.
Site markers.

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