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​​Discover your past at our research library

Our research library provides a variety of local history resources. Come and learn more about your house, family, school or neighborhood. Whether you are just browsing or you are interested in doing more intensive research, you can view our resources at no charge. 

The library is open during regular museum hours with additional availability by appointment.
Please call 612-928-4577 to schedule an appointment or to ask about our research services. 
Research services from our staff are available at an hourly rate​ (see the Research Request Form at the bottom of the page)​.
Digital copies of historic photos from our permanent collection are also available for an additional fee.
Image use fees and the permission forms are available in a downladable pdf format ​a​t the bottom of the page.
​Please contact the curator with any questions or orders regarding historic photos at curator@edinahistoricalsociety.org.

Resources:

This is only a partial listing of resources available at the Edina History Museum research library. 
About Town
This quarterly newsletter for the City of Edina (complete set) includes a popular column on Edina history in addition to city news. Writers through the years included Dudley Parsons, Deborah Morse-Kahn and Joe Sullivan. See the City of Edina's website to view PDF files of any issue. Paper copies are at the museum.
Edina Magazine
A monthly publication.
Images on the Wind
The literary magazine for Edina High School.
The Crier
(1930-1941). This monthly newspaper for the Country Club District covered all the news of the day, such as the hiring of the city's first police officer and the opening of the new Edina Theatre, in addition to school and community news. Similar to many newspapers of the era, The Crier had a detailed Society column that mentioned the parties, vacations and afternoon teas of
neighborhood residents.The Crier is fully indexed, with a complete listing of topics, people and even advertisers that appeared in each issue.
Country Club District Walking Tour
Use this brochure created by Peter Otness, a former student who served on the Edina Heritage Preservation Board, to take your own tour of the heritage district.
Maps
A variety of maps including plat maps showing early property owners in 1868, 1898 and 1913. Over 200 digital plat maps of Edina and Morningside can be found in the Hennepin County Library Digital Collections.
Edina high school yearbooks
Our hard copy collection features Edina-Morningside, Edina, Edina East, and Edina West high school yearbooks. Over 40 digital copies of Edina-Morningside, Edina, Edina East, and Edina West yearbooks can be found in the Hennepin County Library Digital Collections.
​Oral histories
The Edina Historical Society has interviewed more than 60 residents and city
leaders about life in Edina. The first interviews were done in the early 1970s were with pioneer families; later interview subjects include police and fire chiefs, pastors, business owners, park
directors and more. Transcripts of many interviews are available for review or photocopying.
City of Edina newsletters
1950-1970
Edina Tax Assessor Records
As the City of Edina converts its records to computer, the Edina Historical Society has received its paper housing records, which include a photo of the home, market value, home owner names, sale dates and prices and building permits filed. Record-
keeping began in 1958; records prior to that date are based on information collected from homeowners. Note: Morningside records do not begin until after 1966, when Morningside was annexed by Edina. Original records for the Country Club District are kept by the City of Edina's Heritage Preservation Board. Call Emily Bodeker at the City of Edina Planning Department at 952-826-0462 for more information.
Edina phone directories
Our hard copy collection includes directories from 1930 to today. Hennepin County Library recently digitized Edina City Directories from 1941 to 1977. Early phone directories provide a wealth of information about residents, including their names, occupations and employers. Some even include the ages of children in the household. Many directories include a reverse look-up by address. 
Miscellaneous Artifacts
Our collections have a wide variety of items from Edina's history including menus, photographs and other memorabilia.
For more information on usage and fees, please download the Edina Historical Society Research Services documents below.
research_request_form.pdf
File Size: 115 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
image_fees.pdf
File Size: 425 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
permissionrequest.pdf
File Size: 493 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File