Washington County Historical Society Collections at the Nancy & Robert Goodman Research Center
WCHS‘ collection covers more than 150 years of history and has been continually growing since our founding in 1934. The following resources and records are available to the public at the Warden’s Carriage House:
- The Washington County Name Index – now over 180,000 entries.
- Copies of registers for Fairview Cemetery, Stillwater, through the year 1906, and other cemetery indexes.
- City directories for Stillwater, Bayport and Hudson, Wisconsin
- File folders on county subjects, communities, individuals and families
- Printed histories from around the county and other historic books
- Records of the Stillwater Territorial Prison and Stillwater Police Arrest Records
- Stillwater telephone books
- Stillwater birth and death records [1884-1940] – some years missing.
- Bound copies of the Stillwater Post-Messenger, St. Croix Valley Press, and South Washington County Sun
- County school records, histories and photographs
- Government, business, military and fraternal records (including a large collection of Baytown & Grant Township records)
- Plat maps and atlases of Washington County
- St. Croix County, Wisconsin Territory tax assessments for 1847 and 1848 (covers area north and east of Mississippi River in what is now Minnesota)
- More than 15,000 photographs of the area, including the original John Runk historical photograph collection of 435 images and photographs from the Stillwater Gazette, Country Messenger & Woodbury Bulletin newspapers. Download the Gazette Photo Collection portrait index (Microsoft Excel file).
- Indexed scrapbooks
Researching in Person
The Nancy & Robert Goodman Research Center is located in the Warden’s Carriage House, a separate building behind the Warden’s House Museum. It is open all year to assist researchers, accept donations and provide general information.
Research hours: Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays – 12:00 to 5:00 PM & Wednesdays 3:00-9:00 PM or by appointment.
It is advised to call (651-439-5956) or email information@wchsmn.org to confirm the research center’s availability.
Our address is 602 North Main Street, Stillwater MN 55082. Free parking is available between the carriage house and the museum, below on Main Street and across the street in the city lot.
The research library has a photocopier that can both enlarge and reduce images. Copies are 25 cents a page. Reproductions of the society’s photographs can be arranged. Call or write for more details.
A $5 research fee is assessed to non-members of WCHS.
Researching by Mail
Individuals who cannot perform on-site research may request it. The Nancy & Robert Goodman Research Center research service is $25 per hour, with the first hour paid in advance. For more information, call (651) 439-5956 or email information@wchsmn.org.