Minnesota Historical Societies

This directory lists 6 historical societies, museums, and archives in Minnesota, anchored by the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul, which doubles as the state's archives and its largest research library. The guide that follows covers the records a Minnesota genealogist or house researcher uses most: the free People Records Search, the unusually complete run of state censuses, county recorder and Torrens title records, and the Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub.

Minnesota entered the Union as the thirty-second state on May 11, 1858, and is divided into 87 counties. Its record-keeping has two quirks worth knowing from the start. First, the territory and state took their own censuses in 1849, 1853, 1855, 1857, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895, and 1905, so there is a name list roughly every five to ten years during the settlement period. Second, Minnesota runs two parallel land title systems, abstract and Torrens, and the office you consult for a deed depends on which system a parcel is under.

Featured Historical Societies

Major repositories in Minnesota

Nearly everything begins at the Minnesota Historical Society. Its Gale Family Library at 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, inside the Minnesota History Center, has been collecting since 1849 and holds the state archival materials (the government records of Minnesota and its counties), the largest collection of Minnesota newspapers, manuscripts, maps, and photographs. Research is by on-site appointment, and the library offers a distance copy-request service for archival material, phone reference at 651-259-3300, and topic-by-topic research guides at libguides.mnhs.org. Because the state archives sit inside the Society, you do not need to visit a separate agency for county court, probate, or school district records that have been transferred to the state.

• Minnesota People Records Search (mnhs.org/search/people): the Society's free index to birth and death records, the state censuses, Veterans Graves Registration, and World War I service records and photographs.
• Northwest Architectural Archives, University of Minnesota, Elmer L. Andersen Library, Minneapolis: established in 1970, it preserves drawings, specifications, and job files of architects, engineers, contractors, and landscape architects, with finding aids organized by commission name, architect, and street address. Appointments are required (612-625-3550). See the NAA page.
• Minnesota Department of Health, Office of Vital Records, St. Paul: the legal custodian of birth records since 1900 and death records since 1908 (see the next section).

Minnesota birth, death, marriage, and divorce records

Birth registration began statewide in 1900 and reached general compliance about 1915; death registration began in 1908 and was generally observed by 1910. The Office of Vital Records of the Minnesota Department of Health holds births from 1900 and deaths from 1908. It processes orders by mail or fax only and does not offer in-person service; fees are nonrefundable even if no record is found. For faster or same-day service, order from the county vital records office instead; MDH publishes a directory of county registrars.

For research rather than legal copies, use the Minnesota Historical Society indexes first. The birth certificate index covers 1900-1934 and the death certificate index covers 1904-2001, both searchable in the People Records Search, and copies of the underlying certificates can be ordered from the Society. Deaths from 1904 to 1907 appear there because many counties and cities were already reporting before the 1908 statewide law.

Minnesota never had centralized marriage registration in the nineteenth century. Marriage records stay in the county where the license was issued, often reaching back to the county's organization in the 1840s or 1850s, and a statewide index exists only from 1958 forward. The Minnesota Official Marriage System (MOMS) is a shared online index contributed by participating counties; search it before writing to a courthouse. Divorces are district court civil cases, filed in the county courthouse since 1849; the Department of Health indexes divorces only from 1970, and copies come from the district court administrator in the county where the decree was granted.

Land, deed, and property records

Minnesota is a public-domain (federal-land) state. The first owner of any parcel received a patent from the United States, indexed by name on the BLM General Land Office Records site. Minnesota's first homestead entries were filed in 1863, the year after the Homestead Act took effect, and roughly 9,500 entries were registered in 1863-1865 alone; the homestead case files for 1863-1908, which can include affidavits describing the house and crops, are held by the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

After the patent, deeds and mortgages were recorded by the county register of deeds, an office now titled County Recorder. Here Minnesota diverges from most states. A parcel is either abstract property, where the chain of title is proven by an abstract compiled and updated by private abstract companies or attorneys, or Torrens (registered) property, where a court proceeding has issued a certificate of title that is itself the title. Torrens documents are filed with the Registrar of Titles, who examines each deed before accepting it; in most counties the County Recorder and the Registrar of Titles are the same official in the same office, but the Torrens records are kept as a separate series. Ask which system your parcel is under before requesting copies, and read our guide to tracing a deed history for how to follow the grantor and grantee indexes.

Newspapers and city directories

The Minnesota Historical Society holds the largest single collection of Minnesota newspapers, running from 1849 to the present. Its Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub puts millions of those pages online, free and full-text searchable, from papers of many towns, languages, and communities, with new titles added regularly. One limit matters: issues published after 1977 are viewable only on-site in the Gale Family Library for copyright reasons.

Two companion collections are worth bookmarking. The St. Paul Pioneer Press archive at newspaperhub.mnhs.org covers 1861-1961, which is the single best obituary source for the capital. The Society's Swedish American Newspapers collection contains more than 1.3 million digitized pages from Swedish-language papers published across the United States and Canada between 1851 and 2007, essential for the state's large Scandinavian population. Chronicling America at the Library of Congress carries additional Minnesota titles digitized with National Endowment for the Humanities support.

City directories for Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth place a household at an address year by year between censuses; our article on old city directories shows how to read them, and the Gale Family Library is the place to ask about runs for smaller towns.

State censuses, military records, and statewide indexes

Minnesota's state and territorial censuses are the most useful substitute for missing vital records in the settlement era. Territorial counts survive for 1849 and 1855 (heads of household only) and for 1853 and 1857 (every person named). State censuses were taken in 1865 (some counties missing), 1875, 1885, 1895, and 1905, and from 1885 onward they name every member of the household. The 1895 and 1905 schedules add details such as length of residence in the state. All are indexed on FamilySearch, and the Society's People Records Search includes the state census schedules alongside its birth and death indexes.

• Veterans Graves Registration: statewide index of veterans' burials, in People Records Search.
• World War I records and photographs: service summaries and portraits collected after the war, also in People Records Search.
• Federal censuses: 1850 (as part of Minnesota Territory) and every decade from 1860; the 1890 schedules are lost nationwide.

Researching a house or building in Minnesota

The Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office is part of the Minnesota Department of Administration. It manages the National Register program for the state (more than 1,750 Minnesota listings covering over 6,000 properties, from every county), maintains a statewide inventory of historic resources with the survey and archaeological reports behind it, and administers the Minnesota Historic Structure Rehabilitation Tax Credit alongside the federal credit. Ask SHPO whether your property has an inventory number; if it was surveyed, the file usually includes a date, a photograph, and sometimes the architect.

Minnesota is unusually rich in architects' records. The Northwest Architectural Archives in Minneapolis can be searched by street address, so a house designed by a Twin Cities firm may have original drawings on file. Combine that with:

• the county Recorder or Registrar of Titles chain of title;
• the first federal patent date on the BLM site, which sets an earliest possible construction date;
• the state census of 1885, 1895, or 1905 to confirm who was living on the parcel; and
• tax and building permit jumps, as described in our guide to finding when a house was built.

For schools, churches, and commercial blocks, see how to research an old building; the Society's state archives hold school district and municipal records that often name the contractor.

Tips for contacting Minnesota historical societies

Treat the Minnesota Historical Society as the hub and county societies as the spokes. The Gale Family Library will answer short reference questions by phone (651-259-3300) or email (infodesk@mnhs.org) and will copy archival material for distance researchers, so start there before travelling. County and town societies typically hold what the state does not: local plat books, photographs of individual houses, church anniversary booklets, and clipping files. Most are volunteer-run with limited weekday hours, so write first, give the township or city and the family name, and ask whether they have a surname or address file. The organizations listed above include their contact details.

Additional Minnesota History Resources

• Minnesota Historical Society, Gale Family Library - State archives, newspapers, manuscripts, maps; St. Paul, by appointment
• Minnesota People Records Search - Birth index 1900-1934, death index 1904-2001, state censuses, veterans graves, WWI records
• Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub - Free searchable Minnesota newspapers from 1849; post-1977 issues on-site only
• Minnesota Department of Health, Office of Vital Records - Certified births from 1900 and deaths from 1908, by mail or fax
• Minnesota Official Marriage System (MOMS) - Shared county marriage index
• Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office - National Register listings, statewide inventory, rehabilitation tax credits
• Northwest Architectural Archives, University of Minnesota - Architects' drawings and job files searchable by address
• BLM General Land Office Records - Federal land patents and homestead entries by name
• FamilySearch Wiki: Minnesota Census - Year-by-year guide to territorial and state censuses and where each is indexed

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I look up a Minnesota death certificate online?

Use the Minnesota Historical Society's People Records Search, which indexes death certificates from 1904 to 2001 and birth certificates from 1900 to 1934, and lets you order a copy from the Society. The Minnesota Department of Health holds deaths only from 1908 and handles orders by mail or fax.

What is the difference between abstract and Torrens property in Minnesota?

Abstract property proves ownership through an abstract of title compiled by private abstract companies, with deeds recorded by the County Recorder. Torrens (registered) property has a court-issued certificate of title that is itself the title, filed with the Registrar of Titles, who examines every deed before accepting it. In most counties the same official holds both roles, but the records are kept separately.

Which Minnesota state censuses name every member of the household?

The 1853 and 1857 territorial censuses and the 1885, 1895, and 1905 state censuses list every person. The 1849, 1855, and 1865 counts list heads of household only, and 1865 is missing for some counties. All are indexed on FamilySearch and in the Society's People Records Search.

Are Minnesota marriage records online?

Partly. The Minnesota Official Marriage System (MOMS) is a shared index contributed by participating counties, and a statewide index exists from 1958 forward. Original records remain in the county where the license was issued, often back to the 1840s or 1850s, so check MOMS first and then write to that county.