http://www.hclib.org/pub/search/specialcollections/minneapoliscollection.cfm

Be careful how you search with it, though. I put in my address and got nothing. But when I searched “16th” there was lots of stuff.

There’s also a kiosk at Mpls Development Review where you can access copies of a lot of old records. Here’s a link w/ that info:

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/mdr/permits/mdr_permits_records

Hope this helps! Can’t wait to hear if you find out something cool.

Being in Canada the process is probably slightly different but the archivists gave me several methods of searching, including the Land Registry office, where you can discover exactly who lived in the house, whether they were owners or renters, and up until a certain point their occupations. Also, the old tax assessment records will be able to tell you when renovations occurred because the taxes will have increased (ie, as a family had more money they made improvements like bricking the exterior, adding indoor plumbing, etc). They also suggested looking through fire insurance maps. The insurance companies mapped houses and listed the materials used in the construction and included plans for the homes.

Good luck in your searching!

Definitely! But I have to warn you… it’s addictive! Will email you and we’ll find a date soon.

I think we should make a history center date…

Casey! Great tip, I want to get out to the Minnesota History center too and see what I can find there. It would be such a thrill to find an old photo of the house or the families that lived here!

This made me tear up a bit. What a sweet story both about your old house, and Grant. Houses are seriously like family members, that’s why we gotta take care of them, so that we can hand them off to the next family knowing that we loved ’em up good.

There is something pretty special about being responsible for a home. It’s a place that needs to be taken care of, and in return takes care of you. It’s also a space that can reflect who we are as people and as a family.

It’s getting so mushy over here!

The house we live in now was built in 1985 and we are only the second owners. It’s not quite the same, but knowing that a happy family was raised here and stayed for a good long time is nice. We accidentally named our youngest, Grant, after them (it was their last name). We didn’t even realize it until he was about a week old. As we had discussed names from the comfort of our home, something about “Grant” just felt right, maybe from it echoing over our walls for the previous 25 years or from seeing it all over the papers as we signed to buy the place not even a year before. Either way, it’s a fun homage to the family that cared for our home before us :)