Minnesota Gazetteers

Online Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Place
 * Minnesota Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1865 Minnesota Gazetteer and Business Directory, for 1865: containing a list of cities, villages, and post offices in the state; a list of business firms; state and county organizations .... St. Paul : Groff & Bailey, 1865.
 * Adam's Directory of Points and Landings on Rivers and Bayous Louis A Adams. Adam's Directory of Points and Landings on Rivers and Bayous in the States of Alabama...Minnesota... New Orleans : W. L. Murray 1877
 * Minnesota state gazetteer and business directory R L Polk and A C Danser. 1878-9 Minnesota state gazetteer and business directory. Detroit: R. L. Polk and Co 1878.
 * Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Montana gazetteer and business directory R L Polk & Co and A C Danser. 1882-83 Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Montana Gazetteer and Business Directory. Minneapolis, [etc.], R. L. Polk and Co 1882
 * Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Montana gazetteer and business directory R L Polk & Co. 1888-89 Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Montana Gazetteer and Business Directory. Minneapolis, [etc.], R. L. Polk and Co 1888
 * Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Montana gazetteer and business directory R L Polk & Co. 1906 Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Montana Gazetteer and Business Directory. Minneapolis, [etc.], R. L. Polk and Co 1906
 * Minnesota state gazetteer and business directory R L Polk. 1920 Minnesota State Gazetteer and Business Directory. R L Polk & Co Publishing 1920
 * Minnesota Historical Society online resources

Print Only Gazetteers

 * Minnesota places : now and then Mary Bakeman and Ed Wehling. Minnesota Places: Now and Then. Saint Paul, Minnesota : Minnesota Geneal. Society, ©1991
 * German place names in Minnesota = Deutsche Ortsnamen in Minnesota La Vern J. Rippley, Rainer H. Schmeissner. German Place Names in Minnesota = Deutsche Ortsnamen in Minnesota. Northfield, Minnesota : St. Olaf College, c1989
 * Minnesota geographic names : their origin and historic significance Warren Upham. Minnesota Geographic Names : Their Origin and Historic Significance. Publications of the Minnesota Historical Society
 * Gazetteer of Minnesota railroad towns, 1861-1997 Hudson Leighton. Gazetteer of Minnesota railroad towns, 1861-1997
 * Minnesota Atlas and Gazetteer DeLorme Mapping Company. Minnesota Atlas and Gazetteer. Freeport, Maine : DeLorme Mapping Co., c1990
 * Minnesota's boundary with Canada : its evolution since 1783 William E. Lass. Minnesota's boundary with Canada : its evolution since 1783. Saint Paul, Minnesota : Minnesota Historical Society, 1980

Why Use Gazetteers
A gazetteer is a dictionary of place-names. Gazetteers list or describe towns and villages, parishes, states, populations, rivers and mountains, and other geographical features. They usually include only the names of places that existed at the time the gazetteer was published. Within a specific geographical area, the place-names are listed in alphabetical order, similar to a dictionary. You can use a gazetteer to locate the places where your family lived and to determine the civil and religious jurisdictions over those places.

There are many places within a state with similar or identical place-names. You will need to use a gazetteer to identify the specific town where your ancestor lived, the state the town was or is in, and the jurisdictions where records about the person was kept.

Gazetteer Contents
Gazetteers may also provide additional information about towns, such as:


 * Different religious denominations
 * Schools, colleges, and universities
 * Major manufacturers, canals, docks, and railroad stations
 * The population size.
 * Boundaries of civil jurisdiction.
 * Ecclesiastical jurisdiction(s)
 * Longitude and latitude.
 * Distances and direction from other from cities.
 * Schools, colleges, and universities.
 * Denominations and number of churches.
 * Historical and biographical information on some individuals (usually high-ranking or famous individuals)