Northwest Minnesota Historical Center

Guide to the Northwest Minnesota Historical Collection

Established in 1972 on the campus of Minnesota State University Moorhead, the Northwest Minnesota Historical Center collects and preserves information concerning the history and culture of the Red River Valley of the North. 

Particularly strong collections can be found in the following subject areas.

• Agriculture - including the records of crop promotion organizations like the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association, the Minnesota Association of Wheat Growers; records of individual farms; and transcripts of oral histories with farmers living in the region.
   
• Cultural Topics - includes the papers of nationally known poet Thomas McGrath; and the photographs of regional photographer Haakon Bjornaas.
   
• Flood of 1997 in Red River Valley - includes transcripts of interviews with 40 individuals, discussing aspects of recovery from the flood that occurred in April 1997.  These and additional materials on flood recovery are described in the Center's special guide, The Flood of 1997 in the Red River Valley.  See also the Center's website exhibit on flood recovery.
   
• Genealogy - Because other repositories in the region maintain well established genealogical collections, the Northwest Center does not actively collect genealogy materials.  The Center does hold the family history collection of the Heritage Education Commission.  Also, links to various genealogy web sites may be accessed here.
   
• Politics - including papers of several Minnesota state representatives and senators, including those of Roger Moe and Keith Langseth; the papers of former U.S. Congressman Arlan Stangeland; and records of the Clay County DFL Party and the Pennington County Republican Party caucus.
   
• Women's Organizations - including records of several chapters of the Women's Christian Temperance Union; records of women's political organizations like the Sabin-Baker Republican Women's Club; local chapters of the National Organization of Women; and the Women's Network of the Red River Valley.  Tapes and transcripts of interviews with various members of these organizations also are preserved.

The Center's Guide to the Northwest Minnesota Historical Center Collections has brief descriptions of each collection.  More detailed inventories, describing the various files and documents in each collection, are available; contact the Center for further information.  In addition, the manuscript collections at the Center have been cataloged as MARC records in the national OCLC data base.

Most collections are further described in individual inventories, which provide a brief historical background statement and a list of files in the collection. Copies of these inventories can be sent to inquirers on request.

Last modified:  5/01/08
Send comments to: selzler@mnstate.edu

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