The Minnesota Historical Society Library is pleased to announce that a detailed inventory to the microfilm edition of the Annals of Minnesota, compiled by the Minnesota Federal Writers Project of the Works Projects Administration between 1938-1942, is now available online with text search capability.

The annals consist of transcripts or excerpts of hundreds of newspaper articles relating to the history of Minnesota, its local jurisdictions, and its people. The microfilm edition is divided into three segments: a chronological file, a topical set of subject files, and geographical files. The inventory contains a description of the Federal Writers Project and the annals themselves, a roll contents list, and a detailed list of the persons, associations, societies, boats, and buildings represented in the “Names” portion of the subject files of the annals.

The microfilm is available for use in the Hubbs Microforms reading room of the Minnesota Historical Society Library and is available for sale (scroll down about half way) and on interlibrary loan.

The chronological file (rolls 1-45) consists of a single set of transcripts/excerpts dated from 1849 to 1922 (with most dated before 1887) and from 1941-1942. The subject files (rolls 46-131) are arranged topically into the following main categories: agriculture, business and industry, conservation, cooperatives, education and culture, federal government, folkways, immigration and settlement, labor, names, nationality groups, natural resources, politics, public welfare, social attitudes, taxation, transportation, utilities, and weather/climate. The geographical files (rolls 132-167) include major sections on counties, the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, lakes, rivers, caves/falls, valleys, and ghost towns.

The annals are an excellent starting point for students beginning research on a particular time period or topic in Minnesota history, for experienced scholars searching for additional sources and examples to illustrate their works, and for genealogists striving to place their ancestors in the contexts of their localities.