CONSERVATION DEPARTMENT: WATERS DIVISION:

An Inventory of Its Divisional Records at the Minnesota Historical Society

Government Records

OVERVIEW


	Creator:	Minnesota. Division of Waters.
	Title:	Divisional records.
	Dates:	1900-2008.
	Language:	Materials in English.
	Abstract:	Records of the Conservation Department's Division of Drainage and Waters/Division of Waters, including materials created under its predecessors, the Drainage Commission of the State of Minnesota (1901-1919) and Department of Drainage and Waters (1919-1931), and its successor, the Natural Resources Departmentâ€™s Waters Division (1971-1979). Many of the files were created under the tenure of division director Sidney A. Frellsen (1948-1967).
	Quantity:	11.75 cubic feet (10 boxes, 2 partial boxes, and 1 map tube).
	Location:	See Detailed Description for shelf locations.

Topics in the files cover a range of water and drainage issues including conservancy, flood control, land acquisition, national forests and parks, state parks, watershed districts, investigations and studies, permits, land registration, state dams, emergency and soil conservation work, Works Progress Administration activities, inspection, water resources (including inventories of dams, lakes, reservoirs, and rivers), relations with the State Geographic Board, violations of statutes concerning water resources, historical materials, legislation, litigation, the 1965 flooding, iron mining and public water, run-off, and the St. Lawrence Seaway.

The files also contain photographs of river basins, soil erosion control, beaver dams, 1965 flooding, and water control structures; publicity materials, with radio transcripts of directors Walter Olson and Frellsen and a 1941 address by Senator Henrik Shipstead; divisional publications; maps of the Rabbit River chain; county biological survey maps; and regional hydrogeologic assessment files.

There is also an unfinished manuscript on northern Minnesota drainage and a set of clippings, both kept by E.V. Willard, Commissioner of Drainage and Waters (1920-1922), and Division Director Kent Lokkesmoe's files.

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Minnesota. Division of Waters. Divisional Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: [431?]; 978-13; 979-51; 986-89; 986-93; 988-194; 2012-65

Processing Information:

Catalog ID number: 005287190

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION


Location
133.B.18.7B	Land records, 1913-1978.
		General subject files, 1913-1978.
			Acquisitions, miscellaneous, 1913-1978.
			Boundary Waters Canoe Area, 1964-1972.
			Deeds and easements, 1936-1962. 2 folders.
			Inventory of federal lands, 1968.
			Miscellaneous, 1932-1964.
			Planning and utilization, 1932-1959.
		Drainage and conservancy/flood control district files, 1917-1969.
			Include maps, correspondence, and legal documents on districts’ organizations.
			Drainage, flood control, and conservancy district correspondence, 1952-1965.
			Aitkin Drainage and Conservancy District, 1951-1952.
			High Island Drainage and Conservancy District, McLeod and Sibley counties, 1944-1955.
			Houston County Drainage and Conservancy District No. 1, 1922-1967.
			Minnesota Valley Drainage and Conservancy District, 1917-1967. 4 folders.
			Minnesota River Valley Project appraisers’ reports, 1920-1921. 11 folders.
Location
133.B.18.8F			Red Lake Drainage and Conservancy District, 1921-1969. 2 folders.
			Red Lake River Flood Control Project, 1921-1925. 7 folders.
				Correspondence, maps, and typed and printed engineers’ reports.
Location
133.B.18.9B			Red Lake River Flood Control Project, 1921-1925. 7 folders.
			Roseau River Drainage and Conservancy District, 1920, 1955-1963.
			Rushford Area Drainage and Conservancy District, 1955-1967. 3 folders.
			Sand Hill River Drainage and Conservancy District, Polk County, 1949-1966.
			Traverse Lake and Bois Des Sioux Drainage and Flood Control District, Traverse County, 1917, 1963-1966.
			Wild Rice-Marsh River Drainage and Conservancy District, Norman County, 1950-1968.
			Wilkin County Drainage and Conservancy District, 1950-1951.
			Worthington Drainage and Conservancy District, 1953-1955.
		National forest/park files, 1941, 1961-1969.
			Primarily maps and correspondence.
			Chippewa National Forest, 1941, 1961-1966.
			Superior National Forest, 1964-1966.
			Voyageurs National Park, 1968-1969.
		Red Lake Indian Reservation maps, 1923-1932.
			Maps and correspondence.
			Conservation areas, Aitkin County, 1933-1955.
			Conservation areas, miscellaneous, 1951-1968.
			Miscellaneous, 1957-1962.
			Soil Conservation Service Districts [SCS], 1957-1968.
			Soil Conservation Service, miscellaneous, 1933-1956. 2 folders.
			Soil Conservation Service, reports and publications, 1954-1969.
Location
133.B.18.10F		State park files, 1934-1966.
			Maps and correspondence.
			Alexander Ramsey State Park, 1951-1952.
			Buffalo River State Park, 1949-1953.
			Camden State Park, 1950-1957.
			Itasca State Park, 1945-1952.
			St. Croix State Park, 1945-1966.
			Whitewater State Park, 1934-1935, 1958.
		Watershed district records, 1954-1971. 3 folders.
			Miscellaneous correspondence, 1954-1964.
			Programs, 1968-1971.
			Rush-Pine Creek Watershed Project, 1954-1966.


	Operations records, 1928-1979.
		Control Section Monthly Reports, 1937-1945. 1 volume.
		Investigations and studies, miscellaneous, 1935-1972.
		Investigations and studies, St. Anthony Falls, hydraulic lab University of Minnesota, 1941-1969.
		Permits records, 1938-1975.
			Federal Power Commission correspondence and licenses, 1950-1975. 2 folders.
			Miscellaneous correspondence, 1955-1969.
			Numerical index, 1953-1959. 2 folders.
			Policy and special provisions, 1938-1966.
			U.S. Corps of Engineers correspondence and miscellaneous records, 1951-1969.
			Utilities experience in overhead crossings-data, 1957-1965.
		Registration of lands, miscellaneous, 1950-1959.
		State dams and projects subject and correspondence files, 1931-1979.
			Emergency Conservation Work [EDW], Soil Conservation Service [SCS], and Works Progress Administration [WPA], 1933-1940. 2 folders.
Location
133.B.18.11B			Inspection, 1946-1948.
				Includes photographs.
			Lake control dams classification, 1936-1941.
			Land acquisition-State Emergency Relief Administration [SERA] and State Relief Agency [SRA], 1934-1941. 2 folders.
			Maintenance, 1934-1979. 2 folders.
			Miscellaneous, 1934-1977.
			Modification of dams, 1947-1951.
			Plans of Standard Type C, 1936-1942.
			Progress reports, Hartley and Spencer, 1936-1938.
			Project cost summaries, circa 1942.
			SERA and US Corps of Engineers, 1934-1937.
			Summaries, 1937-1952.
			Supervision of dams, 1947-1967.
			USAF Base, Bethel, Minnesota, master drainage plan, 1958.
		Water resources inventory files, 1928-1979.
			Dams inventory, 1942-1955.
			Data sheets for structures, 1936-1939.
			Diversions, 1947-1970.
			Hydrographic names, 1935-1968. 3 folders.
				General, 1935-1959. 2 folders.
				State Geographic Board, 1937-1968.
			Lakes and reservoirs inventory, 1928, 1952-1963. 2 folders.
Location
112.H.6.1B			Minnesota County Biological Survey Maps, 1990-2001.
				Series 9, 13, 16-18, 1995-1998.
					These five maps include the following counties: Goodhue, Wabasha, Dakota, Traverse/Wilkin, and Carver/Hennepin/Scott.
Location
106.C.17.1				Series 1-8, 10-11, 14, 1990-1997. 1 roll.
					These ten maps include the following counties: Anoka/Ramsey, Big Stone, Chisago, Isanti, Houston, Lac Qui Parle, Olmsted, Rice, Sherburne, Washington, and Winona.
Location
106.I.4.14				Series 12, 15, 19, 20, 1997-2001. 1 map tube.
					These four maps include the following counties: Clay, Fillmore, Stearns, and Marshall.
Location
112.H.6.1B			Regional Hydrogeologic Assessment Series, 2002, 2008.
				Otter Tail Area, West Central Minnesota, 2002.
				Traverse-Grant Area, West Central Minnesota, 2008.
Location
133.B.18.11B			Rivers, 1948.
			State Geographic Board correspondence, 1940-1968.
			Surface water summaries, 1941-1979.
			Violations of statutes concerning water resources, files V49-1 – V64-4 inclusion, 1949-1964.
				The files are organized by the red number on the folder, not the black.
				General.
				Index lists.
				V49-1 – V50-6. 24 folders.
Location
133.B.18.12F				V50-7 – V59-19. 107 folders.
Location
133.B.18.13B				V60-1 – V62-7. 20 folders.
			Watershed areas, 1942-1943.
			Watersheds mapping project, 1955-1965.


Location
133.B.18.13B	Photographs, undated, 1924-1943.
		Some include negatives.
		Rivers, Hudson Bay and Mississippi basins, 1924-1932.
		Rivers, St. Lawrence Basin, 1927-1928.
		Soil erosion control and miscellaneous, 1929-1943.
		Unidentified photograph of beaver dams, undated.
Location
106.C.17.1		Aerial photographs, 1934. 3 photographs, rolled; 2 x 8 feet.
			Minnesota River from about Montevideo to upstream of Odessa along the Minnesota/South Dakota border taken for the Lac Qui Parle Project. Two photographs represent the same area but have different annotations.
Location
112.H.6.1B		Water control structure project site documentation:
			1971-1975. 1 card file box.
				Set of black and white photographs and negatives taken in the early to mid 1970s of project sites after completion on water control structures (dams, etc.).
				Arranged by county and well referenced with Township-Range-Section (TRS), date, project name, description of setting, and photographer's name (assumed to be DNR staff).
Location
106.C.17.1			1977-1987. 4 folders.
				Two sets of mylar maps documenting the protected water, public waters, and wetlands in each county. One set is dated 1977-1983, the second 1983-1987.


Location
133.B.18.13B	Publicity file, 1931-1969 (bulk 1940-1942). 3 folders.
		Correspondence, speeches, transcripts of radio talks, and other publicity materials, usually produced by division personnel including directors Walter S. Olson and Sidney A. Frellsen. Includes an address by Senator Henrik Shipstead at Morris, Minnesota, July 4, 1941, and an audograph disc transcription of Frellsen’s interview on WTCN-TV’s September 26, 1959 Opinion Please.


		Reference materials, 1941-1968.
			Historical and miscellaneous.


	Surface water records, 1900-1965.
		Include correspondence, newspaper clippings, and reports on investigations, legislation, litigation, and drainage problems and solutions.
		Drainage-State Drainage Commission/Department of Drainage and Waters, 1900-1931. 4 folders.
		Drainage, Northern Minnesota, 1928-1931.
		Flood of 1965, 1965.
			Includes photographs and negatives of flooded areas.
		Iron ore mining, involving work in public waters, 1933-1937.
			Mesabi Iron Range lakes, general correspondence.
			Cuyuna Iron Range lakes, general correspondence.
			Rabbit River Chain (Cuyuna Range), general correspondence.
Location
133.B.18.14F		Rabbit River Chain (Cuyuna Range) maps. 1 folder and 99 loose folded maps.
		Iron Range lakes (underlying iron ore), 1945-1954.
Location
133.B.18.15B		Lakes, conservation of, 1911-1958. 2 folders.
		Lakes, drainage of, 1923-1952.
		Lakes, problems, 1917-1934.
		Legal opinions, 1915-1917.
		Legislation, 1926-1936.
		Program, 1919-1957. 2 folders.
		Run-off, peat marsh run-off investigation, 1921-1947.
		St. Lawrence Seaway, 1954-1965.
		State dams, 1935-1936.
		Streams-stream gauging, 1917-1945.


Willard (E. V.) records, 1920-1954. 3 folders.
	Commissioner of the Drainage and Waters Division, 1920-1922.
	Unfinished manuscript of northern Minnesota drainage, 1939-1954.
		Miscellaneous reports and data on northern Minnesota drainage.
	Newspaper clippings relating to drainage and Willard’s career, 1920-1922. 2 folders.


Location
112.H.6.2F	Kent Lokkesmoe, Waters Division Director, files, 1992-1995. 17 folders.
		Copies of letters written by Commissioners Rodney W. Sando (1992-1995), Allen Garber (2001-2002), and Gene Merriam (2003-2005) and cc’d to Lokkesmore. Many contain handwritten notes by Lokkesmoe and his staff.


Location
133.B.18.15B	Publications, circa 1940-1971.
		Minnesota’s Legendary Waterways, undated.
			Brochure.
		Recommendations for Planting Aquatic Vegetation in Minnesota Lakes and Streams, circa 1940.
		Control Your Stream Banks, circa 1947.
		Laws Pertaining to Public Drainage Proceedings and the Public Waters, June 1, 1951.
		Laws Relating to the Public Waters and Drainage, May 20, 1953.
		Report of the Division of Waters for the Period July 1, 1950-June 30, 1954, January 1955.
		Correlation of Ground Water Levels and Air Temperature in the Winter and Spring in Minnesota, Technical Paper No. 1, January 1958.
		Geohydrology of the Jordan Aquifer in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Area, Minnesota, January 1961.
		Hydrology of Melt-Water Channels in Southwestern Minnesota, 1965.
		Program and Policy of Division of Waters, circa August 25, 1966.
		Copper-Nickel Unit Book, August 15, 1968.
			Sale of Leases, Koochiching and Lake of the Woods Counties.
		Water Resource and Wildlife Study of the Proposed Ham Lake Airport Site, Anoka County, October 1968.
		Minnesota Statutes Relating to Dams, November 1968.
		Mississippi River Regional Flood Analysis (St. Croix River to Wisconsin River), July 1970.
		Budgetary Details, Southern Minnesota Rivers Basin Study, February 1971.

CATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:: Biology -- Minnesota.; Dams -- Minnesota.; Drainage -- Minnesota.; Flood control -- Minnesota.; Floods -- Minnesota.; Hydrogeologic surveys -- Minnesota.; National parks and reserves -- Minnesota.; Natural resources conservation areas -- Minnesota.; Parks -- Minnesota.; Public lands -- Minnesota.; Riparian rights -- Minnesota.; Soil conservation -- Minnesota.; Soil conservation districts -- Minnesota.; Soil erosion -- Minnesota.; Water conservation -- Minnesota.; Water districts -- Minnesota.; Water resources development -- Minnesota.; Watershed management -- Minnesota.

Persons:: Frellsen, Sidney A.; Lokkesmoe, Kent.; Olson, Walter S.; Shipstead, Henrik, 1881-1960.; Willard, E. V. (E. Victor), 1880-1964.

Organizations:: Civilian Conservation Corps (U.S.) -- Minnesota.; Minnesota Emergency Relief Administration.; Minnesota Geographic Board.; Minnesota Works Progress Administration.; Minnesota. Division of Drainage and Waters.; Minnesota. State Drainage Commission.; Minnesota. Department of Conservation.; Minnesota. Department of Natural Resources.; United States. Soil Conservation Service.

Places:: Rabbit River Watershed (Minn.) -- Maps.; Red Lake Indian Reservation (Minn.)

Document Types:: Aerial photographs -- Minnesota.; Appraisals.; Maps -- Minnesota.; Permits.; Photographs -- Minnesota.; Scrapbooks.

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CONSERVATION DEPARTMENT: WATERS DIVISION:

OVERVIEW

SCOPE AND CONTENTS

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

CATALOG HEADINGS