Conduct Your Research
We are happy to help you with your research! Please briefly describe your project or research question. The more specific you can be and the more details you can convey, the better able our staff will be to locate sources that meet your needs. Please note we are a small, part-time staff, so you may not receive an immediate response but we will attend to your inquiry as soon as possible!
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Anyone can use the archives, member or non-member!
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Please use the contact form to the left. Upon receiving your inquiry, staff will reach out to assist. Many times our staff can work with a patron via email and provide resources without a visit ever being needed. Should in-person research be helpful, our staff will help you schedule an appointment!
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You may bring in a laptop or iPad. Materials may be photographed using a cell phone, iPad, or camera but no additional lighting may be used in the research room. All food and drink must be left outside the room and pencils are to be used when taking notes.
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We generally do not lend out materials. Researchers are encouraged to take notes or make copies of relevant resources, scheduling multiple appointments if it is not possible to get through all the materials in one appointment. We do lend out some materials on a short-term basis for special occasions such as exhibits or presentations.
Our Collection
The mission of the Northfield History Center is to connect individuals to the history of the Northfield area by collecting, preserving, and sharing its unique stories. The collection reflects the Northfield and Dundas area, ranging from the mid-1850s to the present. Areas of concentration include:
business and organization files
corporate archives
the research collection of noted James-Younger Gang historian, John Koblas
family histories
local photographs
newspaper clippings and bound copies of the Northfield News
The Northfield History Center was formed in 1975 for the dual purpose of saving the historically significant First National Bank building and to create a historical society and museum for the city of Northfield. The collection reflects both of these endeavors.
Much of our collection is comprised of the variety of items relating to the 1876 failed bank robbery of the James-Younger Gang. The collection includes guns used in the robbery, bank ledgers, glass-plate negatives of the dead robbers, Stillwater Prison items, and publications relating to the event. Additionally, we have a large collection of objects including clothing, household items, and promotional materials.
In addition to the three-dimensional collection, we also have a document collection. The collection contains business records as well as personal papers from a variety of Northfield citizens. This, too, is a growing collection with several area organizations beginning to systematically turn over records to the Center for permanent preservation.
The archives also contain records created by the City of Northfield including ordinances, municipal court records, fund ledgers, historic preservation records, and City Council meeting minutes. Audio recordings of council meetings are also part of the collection.
The photograph collection is one of the most viewed and used collections that the Center possesses. The majority of the collection depicts local scenes of downtown Northfield or area families and homes.
Special Collections
The Malt-O-Meal Collection
In 2015, the family of John Campbell, the founder of Malt-O-Meal, donated a collection of historic artifacts and archives to the Northfield History Center. This collection documents the growth and development of the original Malt-O-Meal hot cereal and the various promotions, advertisements, products, and facilities of the company.
Collection items include bound ledgers, binders, scrapbooks, photographs, slides, newspaper clippings, audio recordings, video/film recordings, print advertisements, television commercial storyboards, product packaging, three-dimensional artifacts (including premiums and branded merchandise), equipment, clothing, and more. These materials form the Malt-O-Meal Company’s only corporate archives. Portions of the collection may be viewed by the public, by appointment only.
The Sheldahl, Inc. Collection
Gilmore T. “Shelly” Schjeldahl founded the G. T. Schjeldahl Company on June 29, 1955. The company began operations in Northfield, Minnesota and expanded to locations across the United States. Northfield remained the headquarters of the company until it was sold to the Multek Corporation in 2004.
The collection consists of archival records, photographs, oral histories, and artifacts documenting the history of the G. T. Schjeldahl Company, later Sheldahl, Inc. Some of the strengths of the collection include samples of the Echo I and II satelloons, records from Gilmore T. Schjeldahl’s time as president, and advertising materials for various Sheldahl products. The collection may be viewed by the public, by appointment only.
Other Resources
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The largest digitization effort of Northfield-related historical materials to date, the RCDHC, hosted by Carleton College, contains a wide variety of photographs and some documents from the History Center's collection.
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RCHS maintains a large research library with materials including family histories, yearbooks, photographs, and plat books.
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The most comprehensive online index of genealogy information in southern Minnesota, including birth, marriage, and church records, obituaries, newspaper articles, appearances in books, Civil War records, city directories, and cemetery information.
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The Digital Newspaper Hub contains the digitized versions of papers state-wide, including the Northfield News. Due to copyright law, the News is only available digitally through 1925. The History Center houses bound copies accessible for researchers.
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A fully-digitized collection of photographs, postcards, maps, documents, letters, and oral histories from over 200 cultural heritage institutions in Minnesota, including NHC.
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MNHS's Gale Family Library has digitally-searchable collections, genealogy records, catalogs, and finding aids.
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DCHS has a number of digitally-searchable records, including censuses, Civil, World War I, and World War II records, marriages, obituaries, cemetery listings, and Catholic Church records.
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Fully-digitized, fully-searchable version of Edward D. Neill's The History of Rice County, with individual chapters on specific townships. Hosted by Internet Archive.
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Fully-digitized, fully-searchable version of H.C. Cooper, Jr.'s The History of Rice and Steele Counties. Hosted by Google Books.
