Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul

Address: 
Minnesota Historical Society
Division of Library and Archives 
345 Kellogg Blvd. West
Saint Paul MN 55102 
Phone: (651) 296-6980
Fax: (612) 296-9961 
E-mail: michael.fox@mnhs.org
Contact person: Michael Fox, Acting Assistant Director and Division Manager

Founded in 1849

The Society owns nearly 8,000 separate manuscripts collections, totaling over 38,000 cubic feet.
Polish archival holdings: there is no separate major Polish-American collection but some materials are related to the history of Polish settlements in Minnesota. In the Minnesota Historical Society, Minnesota Ethnic History Project Records (1969-1982) there is information on Polish ethnic groups, Polish organizations and Polish Roman Catholic parishes in this region. Some private collections of immigrants contain information on Polish American groups in Minnesota, e.g. Swedish immigrant Alf Peterson's reminiscences (1945-1947), Birdella M. Ross Papers (1961-1963), Irene Krumpelmann Iwanowski's reminiscences (1980-1984). You may find similar data in the Great Northern Railway Records (1854-1970). Information on Polish history in 20th century, descriptions of travels to Poland and the wars of 1918-1921 are in Dorothy Rood and Family Papers (1903-1964), Charles H. Bigelow and Family Papers (1862-1994), Albert J. and Placida Chesley Papers (1900-1949). There is also a collection of Violet Wannow Sanford (1986-1990) which gives a historical and architectural account of the City of Danzig (Gdansk, Poland). 

Library hours: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Closed Sundays and state holidays. If you need more information, please contact the Historical Society of Minnesota. Access to the description of MHS main collections on-line: http://www.mnhs.org/collections/index.htm
The Historical Society of Minnesota website: http://www.mnhs.org/