How many of you have done research at a county historical society? Whether you have already done some or not, this is a good time to check out the website, blog, Facebook page, other social media, or newsletter related to some of your U.S. ancestral counties. You may find family files, county record books, newspaper indexes, county history indexes, maps, census abstracts and indexes, cemetery records, city and county directories, vital records, local business records, tax records, clippings scrapbooks, and school records. Of course, each one you seek will have different research items, but all are worth a look. Much of what they hold has not been digitized, but bless those with online indexes, descriptions of holdings, and a really helpful website.

To whet your appetite, here are a handful of Minnesota county level historical society research library websites. Many require an advance appointment for in-person research.

• Brown County Historical Society Library: https://www.browncountyhistorymn.org/research-library/
  
• Carver County Historical Society Library Resources: https://www.carvercountyhistoricalsociety.org/library_resources.php
  
• Dakota County Historical Society County Records: https://www.dakotahistory.org/search-records
  
• Goodhue County Historical Research Library: https://goodhuecountyhistory.org/research-library/
  
• Houston County Historical Society Resources: http://houstoncountyhistoricalsociety.org/resources.html
  
• McLeod County Historical Society History Research Center: https://www.otchs.org/LibraryResearch/libraryHome.html
  
• Ottertail County Historical Society Research Library & Archives https://www.otchs.org/LibraryResearch/libraryHome.html
  
• Stearns History Museum Research: https://www.stearnshistorymuseum.org/research/
  
• Washington County Historical Society: https://www.wchsmn.org/research/
  
  
  
  

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