RAMSEY COUNTY: BOYS TOTEM TOWN:

An Inventory of Its Records at the Minnesota Historical Society

Government Records

Part or all of this collection is restricted.
For details, please see restrictions.


Expand/CollapseOVERVIEW

Creator: Boys Totem Town (Saint Paul, Minn.).
Title:Records.
Dates:1908-2019.
Language:Materials in English.
Abstract:Includes inmate records, photographs and photograph albums, scrapbooks, selected subject files, and published records and reports.
Quantity:7.5 cubic feet (9 boxes)
Location: See Detailed Description for shelf locations.

Expand/CollapseHISTORICAL NOTE

In 1907 the Minnesota state legislature authorized the establishment of a Detention Home for Boys in each of Minnesota's largest urban counties: Ramsey, Hennepin and St. Louis. The Ramsey County Home for Boys opened in 1908 in downtown St. Paul, and in 1913 moved to a farm in the Highwood area of Ramsey County. In 1938 the Home was first referred to as Boys Totem Town, and the name was formally changed in 1957. The facility closed in the summer of 2019 due to declining placements.


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Expand/CollapseADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Access Restrictions:

Includes private information about individuals. Records with private information are closed for 75 years from date of last entry in the record. Researchers must apply for permission to use these records. Please consult library staff for more information.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Boys Totem Town (Saint Paul, Minn.). Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 2021-6

Processing Information:

Processed by: Perry Schussler and Charles Rodgers, August 2020

Catalog ID number: 9989786940204294


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DETAILED DESCRIPTION

LocationBox
115.H.1.5B1Inmate records, 1908-2001:
RESTRICTED.
Inmate record book, 1908-1986. 4 folders.
Indexed; index includes name and case file number. Information includes name, address, date committed, date recommitted, and case file number.
Inmate lists, undated, 1908-1939. 3 folders.
Information includes name, address, date received, date released, age, number of days at the facility, case file number, and remarks.
Inmate index, undated.
Information includes name and case file number.
Admittance log, August 1993-June 2001.
Information includes name, case file number, offense, date court order received, name of detaining authority, and related information.
LocationBox
115.H.2.2F-22Inmate card index, 1985-2000.
Three alphabetical sub-sets dated 1985-1989, 1990-1994, and 1995-2000. Information includes name, address, parents’ names, date of birth, race, date admitted, date released, offense, and related information.
LocationBox
115.H.2.3B-13Inmate registers, 1939-1991. 11 volumes:
The registers, dated January 1939-October 1958, are monthly registers with brief daily notations for each inmate including name, demerits, behavior issues, medical appointments, home release, ran away, and related activities. The registers, dated November 1958-1991, include name, birth date, date admitted, court date, and date released.
January 1939-December 1942.
January 1943-December 1951.
January 1952-October 1958.
November 1958-December 1963.
LocationBox
115.H.2.3B-24 January 1964-March 1967.
April 1967-April 1970.
May 1970-April 1974.
May 1974-May 1978.
June 1978-June 1983.
July 1983-November 1987.
LocationBox
115.H.2.4F-15 December 1987-January 1991.
Guest register, approximately 1939-2019. 1 volume.
Guest register with decorative wood covers.
Scrapbooks, 1954-2009. 1 volume and 1 folder.
Newspaper clippings concerning staff, residents and activities at the facility. Arranged in chronological order.
LocationBox
115.H.1.5B1Photographs, undated, 1913-2010. 9 folders:
Residents, undated, 1940s-2010. 4 folders.
RESTRICTED.
Black and white, and color photographs of various sizes. Depict individuals and groups; some are identified. Activities include camping, choir, swimming, track and field, farming and gardening, recreational activities, and more.
Staff, 1940s-2010. 2 folders.
Black and white, and color photographs of various sizes. Depict individuals and groups; some are identified.
Buildings and grounds, undated, 1913-1999. 3 folders.
Black and white, and color photographs of various sizes. Depict interior and exterior of building and surrounding grounds, including the diversity wall mural (1996-1997).
LocationBox
115.H.2.4F-15Buildings, and aerial photograph of facility site, undated. 1 oversize folder.
LocationBox
115.H.2.4F-26Photograph albums, approximately 1908-2007. 8 volumes:
RESTRICTED.
Black and white, and color photographs of various sizes. Arranged in rough chronological order.
approximately 1908-1950.
Building exteriors and interiors; inmates.
LocationBox
115.H.1.6F7 approximately 1930s-1950s.
Depict individual and group shots of inmates and staff, farm animals, buildings, and various activities.
approximately 1940-2000.
Depict group shots of inmates and staff, buildings and grounds, and recreational activities.
approximately 1960-1986.
Depict individual and group shots of inmates and staff; inmates are usually not identified, but staff are identified. Also, buildings and grounds, and recreational and school activities.
LocationBox
115.H.2.5B-18 1972-1976.
Depict individual and group shorts of inmates, special events, and various activities.
approximately 1983-1999.
Depict individual and group shots of inmates and staff, special events, and various recreational and school activities such as camping, track and field competition; and buildings and grounds.
LocationBox
115.H.2.4F-26 approximately 2000-2001.
Depict individual and group shots of inmates and staff, special events, car show and other activities.
LocationBox
115.H.1.6F7Launch of boat at Lake Phalen, 2007.
LocationBox
115.H.1.7B9Subject files, approximately 1910-2019:
Court order: Photographing boys, 1985-1987.
Employees termination dates, 1956-1992.
Information includes employee name, address, position, and dates started at and left the facility.
Expansion: The controversy, 1994.
Floor plans, 2008, 2016.
Grand jury reports, 1941-1958.
Historical background and timelines, undated, 1972-2019.
Monthly reports, 1931-1952.
LocationBox
115.H.2.4F-15Monthly statistics, 1974-1977.
Computer print-out.
LocationBox
115.H.1.7B9News clippings, 1930s-2016. 3 folders.
Staff lists, approximately 1910-2004.
Staff meeting minutes, 1956-1968.
Statistical reports, 1962-1989. 3 folders.
Statistics, 1990s.
Swimming pool, 1953-1954.
Published records and reports, 1950s-2019:
Brochures, undated [1950s, 1990s].
Building redesign, 2008-2009. 2 folders.
Commemorative program, 2019.
Employees manual, January 1957.
FTO (field training officers) modules, 2016-2017.
New employee orientation manual, 2019.
Observed deficiencies in Ramsey County facilities for juvenile offenders, undated [approximately 1971].
PEARS (Personal Effort And Responsibility System), 2005.
Revised 2010.
Resident handbook, 2016.
Safety and security policies, 2017.
The Totem Times newsletter, 1988-2010. 2 folders.
Incomplete?
Totem Times quarterly newsletter, 2016.
[0.2 cubic feet empty]

Expand/CollapseCATALOG 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:
Corporal punishment -- Minnesota.
Escapes -- Minnesota.
Juvenile corrections -- Minnesota.
Juvenile delinquents -- Minnesota -- Discipline.
Juvenile delinquents -- Institutional care -- Minnesota.
Juvenile detention homes -- Minnesota.
Juvenile justice, Administration of -- Minnesota.
Male juvenile delinquents -- Minnesota.
Schools -- Minnesota.
Organizations:
Ramsey County Home for Boys.

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