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Owatonna State Public School Records Request - Official Use

Owatonna State Public School Records Request - Official Use


You must have the Owatonna State Public School case file number to order this service.

If you do not have the case file number, please order the index search first.

  • MNHS holds Owatonna case files between 1886 - 1945. 
  • Case files held are numbers 1 - 10,635.
  • Not all Owatonna case files were retained. If you order a file that is missing from our collections, you will be sent a detailed response and your order will be refunded in full. Missing case files are noted in the Owatonna State Public School Case Files finding aid, available here.

For use by Foster Adopt and Minnesota Department of Health staff when requesting Full Case Files for OSPS residents.

Owatonna State Public School Records Requests are usually completed and sent via email within 60 business days after payment has been processed.

Price:
Reduced rate: $10

Turnaround: Research is usually completed and sent via email within 60 business days. Materials are sent as research-quality PDF digital files.

About This Research Service:

The Owatonna State Public School was established by the Minnesota legislature in 1885 as a public institution for dependent and neglected children between the ages of 3 and 14 (Laws 1885 c146). The State Archives of the Minnesota Historical Society Library preserves records from the state orphanage, including the case files that were maintained for each child.

This service has two steps:

Full Case File Request ($15)
For children at Owatonna with known case file or student numbers. 

The case file or student number, the child's name and birth and admission info are required to request the case file. Please order the Index Search first if you do not have those necessary pieces of information. When you've received the index materials, then you may order the case file.
  • MNHS holds Owatonna case files between the years 1886 - 1945. 
  • Case files held are numbers 1 - 10,635.
  • Not all Owatonna case files were retained. If you order a file that is missing from our collections, you will be sent a detailed response and your order will be refunded in full. Missing case files are noted in the Owatonna State Public School Case Files finding aid, available here.

Full case files may contain some or all of the following:

  • Admission documents
  • Family history and/or reasons for placement
  • Data on medical conditions and/or medical services provided
  • Records of academic progress
  • Contracts/agreements for "placing out" with families
  • Adoption papers
  • Photographs
  • Letters to or from family members
  • Baptismal certificates
  • Follow-up reports from state investigation agents about placement or adoptive families
  • Correspondence when the child was at Owatonna
  • Correspondence after the child was discharged (often about later work/life or from family members searching for the child)
  • Death notices or certificates for children who died while under the facility's jurisdiction

Restrictions on access: Owatonna State Public School records contain private information about individuals and access to many of them is restricted.

Children's records are generally restricted for 75 years from the date of the last entry on the record, or 100 years from the date of any adoption or illegitimate birth. If restricted information is present, it will be clearly redacted. If the item is fully restricted, staff will contact you about next steps.

Questions? Email: reference@mnhs.org

Mail: MNHS Library, attn: OSPS Request, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55102

 

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