Digital Collections
Hennepin History Museum maintains historical archives pertaining to Hennepin County and the immediate surrounding region.
A detailed description of what we have archived is here. Many of the museum’s archives are available for viewing in the museum’s Research Library, however, we also have digitized archives that are accessible on these websites:
- MNCollections: This website is a compilation of collections of many of Minnesota’s historical societies and organizations through the Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums (MAHLM). This website enables contributors to share their collections online. Many of Hennepin History Museum’s archives are accessible on this free site.
- Hennepin County Library Digital Collections: digitized materials from Hennepin County Library’s Special Collections related to the history of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, and Minnesota’s involvement in World War II. Items can be viewed for free online.
- Minnesota Digital Library (MDL): includes digital content from over 200 participating organizations including libraries, historical societies, museums and archives from across Minnesota. MDL has more than 60,000 photographs, postcards, maps, documents, letters, and oral histories available free online.
Free Digital Guide:
Discover Hennepin History Museum with our free digital guide available on Bloomberg Connects. This mobile phone app was developed in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies (click here to learn more about the app) and gives you virtual access to museums around the world, including Hennepin History Museum. Here’s what you’ll find on our site:
- Oral Histories: listen to excerpts of some of our featured oral history collections. Full versions of these narratives can be found in our mncollections.org portal.
- Current Exhibits: enjoy this up-close view of what is on exhibit in our museum galleries.
- Collection Highlights: view a choice selection of three-dimensional artifacts from our collection that offer insight into stories of early life in Hennepin County to the present day. These items are highlights of our holdings but, like many in our collection, are not currently on display in the museum. Featured archival items are available for viewing in the museum by appointment through research@hennepinhistory.org.
Click here to visit our guide on Bloomberg Connects.
You can find information about the following Hennepin History Museum collections by clicking on the links below.
Ȟaȟá Wakpádaŋ – Basset Creek Oral History Project
In 2021, Valley Community Presbyterian Church of Golden Valley (VCPC) initiated an oral history project of American Indian people living in the suburban communities located in the watershed areas of Bassett Creek in the Western metro area. Ȟaȟá Wakpádaŋ is the Dakota name for Bassett Creek and this oral history project is unique in its focus on the lived experiences of American Americans in suburban settings. Dr. Kasey Keeler, a professor from the University of Wisconsin who grew up in Coon Rapids, MN, conducted interviews with 14 American Indian people whose tribal backgrounds include Dakota, Anishinaabe, Ho-Chunk, Assiniboine, Lakota, Odowa, Ponca, and Zuni. The project was funded in part through the Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage grant program; VCPC, and the University of Wisconsin Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies. The interviews are now permanently archived by Hennepin History Museum.
Minneapolis Interview Project
Beginning in 2016, author, activist, and historian Anne Winkler-Morey made a resolution to interview 100 people who have lived, worked, engaged in institutions, or worked on grassroots campaigns in Minneapolis. Her goal was to reveal hidden histories of inequality and the struggle for social justice in Minneapolis – stories that stand as testaments of personal experience. It was Anne’s intention to create an opportunity for people to connect. She interviewed people of different ages, races, genders, economic classes, migration experiences, and who have lived in different parts of the city. This collection of oral histories with a social justice lens became part of the permanent collection of Hennepin History Museum in 2023.
Confer Real Estate Collection
This collection includes black and white photos of houses from the 1920s-1930s taken by the Confer Brothers Realty Company. Ogden Confer founded the Confer Real Estate Agency in 1914 and partnered with his brother in 1916 to develop one of the 20th century’s most prestigious real estate agencies in Minneapolis.
Hennepin History Magazine
Published since 1941, Hennepin History tells the stories of the people, places, and object of our region and how our lives today can be interpreted through the lens of history. In the pages of this beloved museum membership benefit, readers are introduced to a diversity of experiences and personalities and how they relate to the museum’s collection and mission. Hennepin County Library has digitized every issue of Hennepin History since its inception in 1941 in order to make this treasured history accessible to all.
Adams Collection
This is Arthur T. Adams’s black and white photos from the 1920s-1930s. Adams traveled throughout Minnesota taking photos of historical landmarks. The collection also includes scans from Adams’s lantern slide collection. Adams was a Minneapolis high school teacher who took photographs to augment his lectures.
Black and White Photographs
This collection of nearly 500 images is from the 1880s-1940s. These are mostly exterior photos that include subjects such as the Mississippi River, Boom Island, the Bohemian Flats, the Water Power Company, and the Milling District. There are also images of construction along the lower dam. Photographers vary.
Photo: Frederick Roach Bicycle Shop, 519 Hennepin Avenue North, Minneapolis, ca.1902. From Hennepin History Museum photo collection. Donated by Frederick and Ida Roach’s daughter, Thoris, in 1972.