United States » Minnesota » Libraries, Archives & Museums

Digital Horizons

An online treasure house of thousands of images, documents, video, and oral histories depicting life on the Northern Plains from the late 1800s to today. Here you'll find a fascinating snapshot of the lives, culture, and history of the people who shaped life on the prairies.

Digital State Archives - Minnesota

Minnesota has a very robust set of archive information online, including both items (photos, documents, etc) and databases (military records, census, gravesites, etc). Best of all, there's a one-stop-shopping name lookup search, where you can easily check all major records for information on your ancestors.
[The original link is broken. This link points to an archived copy on the Wayback Machine]

FamilySearch - Family History Center Locator: Minnesota

From the FamilySearch web site. Includes address, telephone number and hours of operation.

FamilySearch Catalog

From the FamilySearch web site, an online catalog to the holdings of Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Microfilm loans can be ordered and then sent to your local Family History Center.

Forest History Center

Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

Gustavus Adolphus College - College and Lutheran Church Archives

The Gustavus Adolphus College Archives makes available for research and study: Photographs, Recordings, and Documents concerning Gustavus; Materials from students, faculty, administrative offices, and alumni; Information relating to the College's history from 1862 to present; In addition, we hold the records of Minnesota College (a high school) which was located in Minneapolis. The Lutheran church archives consist primarily of administrative records documenting Minnesota affiliates of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) along with predecessor and supporting synods. In addition, there are congregational histories, biographical files regarding clergy and church leaders, and microfilmed church records (ending about 1930).

Hill Monastic Manuscript Library

Collegeville, Minnesota. At St. John's University.

Immigration History Research Center (IHRC) - University of Minnesota

An international resource on American immigration and ethnic history. Minneapolis, Minnesota.

James J. Hill Reference Library

James J. Hill was one of the founders of the Great Northern Railroad. This library holds his personal papers and corporate records. Located in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Kautz Family YMCA Archives | University of Minnesota Libraries

The Kautz Family YMCA Archives collects the historical records of the Y's national resource office, YMCA of the USA, and also holds records of the Metropolitan Minneapolis and Greater New York YMCAs, as well as those of Y's Men International, a service club in partnership with the Y. The collections document the evolution of the Y from its Protestant evangelical origins, including its contributions to war relief, the invention of basketball and volleyball, public health campaigns in China, rural reconstruction in India and Korea, teaching English as a second language, and much more.

LibDex - The Library Index - Minnesota

A worldwide directory of links to library homepages and web-based OPACs (Online Public Access Catalogs).

Library of Congress - Search results for Minnesota

Minnesota Digital Library

The Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) supports discovery and education through access to unique digital collections shared by cultural heritage organizations from across the state of Minnesota. Our contributors include libraries, historical societies, museums, and archives.

Minnesota Digital Library

Minnesota Discovery Center - Iron Range Research Center

Minnesota Historical Society Library

Minnesota North Star : State Government Libraries - CALCO

Minnesota State Archives

Minnesota State University, Mankato - Archives and Southern Minnesota Historical Center ^FREE

Find photos, yearbooks, periodicals and other historical documents online in the continually expanding University Archives Digital Collections. The Archives contains records from the creation of the Mankato State Normal School in 1868 to the present. The Southern Minnesota Historical Center is a regional research repository containing manuscript collections from twelve counties in South Central Minnesota.

MnLINK: Minnesota Library Information Network

Offering the ability to search library catalogs around Minnesota in one step, MnLINK is particularly useful for identifying and locating local history materials and genealogies that may not be owned by larger libraries.