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Dakota County History and Information |
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Dakota County was created on October 27, 1849 (Organized in 1853) from Unorganized Territory. The County Seat is Hastings. The County was named for the Dakota people, meaning an alliance or league.
Counties adjacent to Dakota County are Ramsey County (north), Washington County (northeast), Pierce County, Wisconsin (east), Goodhue County (southeast), Rice County (southwest), Scott County (west), Hennepin County (northwest). Cities and Towns Include Apple Valley, Burnsville, Coates, Eagan, Farmington, Hampton, Hastings, Inver Grove Heights, Lakeville, Lilydale, Mendota, Mendota Heights, Miesville, New Trier, Northfield, Randolph, Rosemount, South St. Paul, Sunfish Lake, Vermillion, West St. Paul. Townships Include Castle Rock, Douglas, Empire, Eureka, Greenvale, Hampton, Marshan, Nininger, Randolph, Ravenna, Sciota, Vermillion, Waterford Townships. See also County History and County Courthouse for more details.
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See Also Minnesota Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records
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PLEASE READ FIRST!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information. |
All Departments below can be contacted by clicking the link, by contacting the Phone number below for each department or contacting the County Courthouse at 1590 West Highway 55, Hastings, MN 55033-2372; Phone: (651) 437-3191. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time. At some time Dakota County was attached to Ramsey County for county and or judicial purposes. Some early records may be found there.
Dakota County Recorder's Office has Birth Records from 1870, Marriage Records from 1853, Death Records from 1870 and Land Records from 1852.
The Recorders Office is responsible for all the real estate records for properties located in the County. Permanent records of deeds, mortgages and other various real estate records are recorded/filed in this office. As Local Registrar, the office protects and issues certified copies of Birth and Death records, Marriage Certificates & Military Discharge Records.
Dakota County Court Administrator's Office has Probate Records from 1863 and has Court Records from 1853.
The Court Administrator's Office maintains court files for Civil, Criminal, Traffic, Probate, Conciliation, Juvenile, Tax and Family Court matters.
Below is a list of online resources for Dakota County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Dakota County Court Records by clicking the link below:
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See Also Research In Tax Records
The Minnesota Historical Society holds large numbers of county property tax records, filed under the respective county. Some of the tax records are for specific municipalities. No determination has been made concerning tax record holdings in the county courthouse.
Below is a list of online resources for Dakota County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Dakota County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
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- Dakota County Treasurers Office - The treasurer is responsible for keeping a complete accounting of all monies collected and expended by all the county departments. This includes the investing of available funds and accurately distributing the interest received. The department is also responsible for the collection of taxes and distribution to the various taxing entities within the County.
- Dakota County, Minnesota Tax Books at Amazon.com
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See Also Vital Records in Minnesota
Some documents are just too important to wait six weeks for. With VitalChek Express Certificate Service you won’t have to. Birth, Marriage, Divorce & Death Certificates Signed. Sealed. Delivered. Often in as few as three business days!
Minnesota Department of Health, Attention: Office of the State Registrar, P.O. Box 64882, St. Paul, MN 55164. It is no longer necessary to go to the registrar's office of the county where the birth or death took place. You may go to a registrar's office in any county in Minnesota for births that took place during of after 1900 and for deaths that took place during or after 1997. They have the following records:
- Birth Certificates: Avalible since 1900 to 3 months ago.
- Cost: $16.00 for Certified and $13.00 for Non-Certified Certificates. For births that took place before 1900, go to the local registrar office in the county where the birth took place.
- Processing Time: Filled requests take 4-6 weeks when ordered by mail (Application for Certified and Non-certified) or 2-5 Days when you order online.
- Death Certificates: Avalible since Jan 1908.
- Cost: $13.00 for Certified and Non-Certified Certificates. For deaths that took place before 1900, go to the local registrar office in the county where the death took place.
- Processing Time: Filled requests take 4-6 weeks when ordered by mail (Application for Certified and Non-certified) or 2-5 Days when you order online.
- Marriage Certificates: Certified copies may be available from the Local Registrar in the county where the license was issued or you can order them online.
- Divorces: Certified copies may be available from the Local Registrar in the county where the divorce was granted.
Order On-Line: To obtain a certified copy of a vital record by on-line purchase with a credit card, please link to VitalChek.
Order In Person: The Dept of Health no longer accepts walk-in or phone orders because of a change in Minnesota law. However, you may complete your requests by mail or online.
Below is a list of online resources for Dakota County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Dakota County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
- Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE
- Minnesota Birth Index, 1935-2002: This database is an index created by the Minnesota Department of Health to approximately 5.2 million births occurring in the State of Minnesota, USA, between 1935 and 2002. Information contained in this index includes child's full name, father's full name, mother's maiden name, birth date, birth county, and state file number.
- Minnesota Marriage Collection, 1958-2001: This database is an index to individuals who were married in the state of Minnesota (U.S.A.) from 1958-2001. Information that may be found in this database for each entry includes bride and groom's full names, their ages, birth dates, and marriage date and place.
- Minnesota Divorce Index, 1970-1995: This database contains a statewide index of divorces filed in Minnesota between 1970 and 1995. Information that may be found in this database includes: husband's name and age, wife's name and age, divorce date, and divorce county.
- Minnesota Death Index, 1908-2002: This database is an index of deaths recorded by the State of Minnesota, USA, from 1908 to 2002. The index includes: name of the deceased, city and county of death, date of death, birth date, birthplace, mother's maiden name, and state file number.
- Dakota County, Minnesota Birth, Marriage & Death Books at Amazon.com
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See Also Research In Census Records
Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Dakota County, Minnesota are 1850,1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your Family Tree in Dakota County, Minnesota are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1860, 1870 and 1880. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1860, 1870 and 1880. There are free downloadable and printable Census forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms and U.K. Census Extraction Forms.
See Also Statewide Records that exist for Minnesota
Below is a list of online resources for Dakota County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Dakota County Census Records by clicking the link below:
- Minnesota Census, 1835-90: This database contains indexes to the Minnesota (U.S.A.) portions of the 1850-1880 U.S. Federal Censuses as well as indexes to the 1835-1839 Tax Lists, 1849 Territorial Census, and the 1890 Veteran's Schedule. Information contained in these indexes can include name, state, county, township, year of record, and name of record set.
- Minnesota Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905: This database contains the Minnesota territorial and state censuses from 1849-1905. Information available for an individual will vary according to the census year and the information requested on the census form. Some of the information contained in this database though includes: name, enumeration place, age, gender, race, and birthplace.
- Census Online - Minnesota Census Records
- The USGenWeb Archives Minnesota CENSUS IMAGES PROJECT
- Dakota County, Minnesota Census Books at Amazon.com
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Genealogy Atlases has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Minnesota showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Minnesota showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries . You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps. The Minnesota Department of Transportation has county maps the show the locations of churches, cemeteries, roads, ect... free for viewing or download here
Below is a list of online resources for Dakota County Maps. Email us with websites containing Dakota County Maps by clicking the link below:
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See Also Military Records in Minnesota
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.
Below is a list of online resources for Dakota County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Dakota County Military Records by clicking the link below:
- Minnesota Civil War Soldiers: List of over 26,000 soldiers mustered from Minnesota during the American Civil War
- Minnesota Volunteers in the Spanish American War and the Philippine Insurrection: This database indexes names of persons from Minnesota who enlisted in the Spanish American War.
- Minnesota Society of Daughters of the American Revolution
- National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, 1776 D Street NW,
Washington, D.C. 20006; Phone: (202) 628-1776
- Minnesota Society of Sons of the American Revolution
- National Society of Sons of the American Revolution, 1000 South Fourth Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40203; (502) 589-1776
- Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900 from the State of Minnesota (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Pension applications for service in the U.S. Army between 1861 and 1917, grouped according to the units in which the veterans served.
- Southern Claims Commission from the State of Minnesota (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
- Dakota County, Minnesota Military Books at Amazon.com
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See Also Other Minnesota Genealogical Addresses
The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Dakota County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Dakota County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
- Dakota County Historical Society,
130 3rd Ave N, South St Paul MN 55075-2002;
Phone: 651 552-7548
- Dakota County Genealogical Society,
130 3rd Ave N, South St Paul MN 55075-2002
- Dakota City Heritage Village, Inc.,
Mail: PO Box 73, Farmington MN 55024-0073
Location: 4008 220th St W, Farmington MN;
Phone: 651 460-8050
- Farmington Area Historical Society,
2890 Pilot Knob Rd, Eagan MN 55121-1146;
Phone: 651 454-4056
- Lakeville Area Historical Society, 20195 Holyoke Ave, Lakeville MN 55044-8339
Location: Corner of 210th St. & Holt Ave.;
Phone: 952 985-2700 or 952 985-4406
- Rosemount Area Historical Society, 15335 Danbury Ave W, Rosemount MN 55068-1596;
Phone: 651 423-4603 evenings;
Note: Monthly meetings are held at the Rosemount Community Center on the 1st Wednesday of the month at 7pm. No meeting in July or December.
- Local Minnesota Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
- Minnesota State Archives, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55102-1906 • 651-259-3260
- Minnesota Historical Society, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55102-1906 • 651-259-3000
- Minnesota Genealogical Society, 1185 Concord St. N. Suite 218, South St. Paul, MN 55075-1187; (651) 455-9057
- National Archives - Great Lakes Region (Chicago),
7358 South Pulaski Road,
Chicago, Illinois 60629-5898; 773-948-9001; E-mail: chicago.archives@nara.gov (Maintains retired records from Federal agencies and courts in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Minnesota.)
- Minnesota Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
- Minnesota Genealogical Society Books at Amazon.com
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See Also Church & Cemetery Records in Minnesota
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Click Here to Search Minnesota Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships. |
There are many churches and cemeteries in Dakota County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Dakota County Tombstone Transcription Project.
The Minnesota Historical Records Survey Project of Madison published the Directory of Churches and Religious Organizations in Minnesota in 1941 and Guide to Church Vital Statistics Records in Minnesota in 1942. There are also numerous publications by the project for specific denominations. Extensive microfilm collections of church records in Minnesota are available through the FHL. The State Historical Society of Minnesota and Area Research Centers have a variety of church records including microfilm and original records.
Numerous cemeteries have been read and transcribed by local genealogical societies in Minnesota. The transcriptions are frequently deposited with an Area Research Center, a local library, or the State Historical Society of Minnesota. A considerable number have been printed in the Minnesota State Genealogical Society Newsletter. Some have been privately published.
The Minnesota State Old Cemetery Society, 6100 West Mequon Road,
Mequon, WI 53092, publishes a newsletter and maintains an archive of tombstone inscriptions from around the state. Contact the society for membership information
Below is a list of online resources for Dakota County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Dakota County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
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When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Dakota County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Dakota County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
- Search 60 Years Of Everton Data: For the first time ever you can get access to more than 150,000 pedigree files and family group sheets from Evertons. Learn More
- Search the Family Tree DNA Project - Use DNA testing to break through your genealogical barriers!
- Sites on USGenweb: [ Dakota County ] [ Minnesota ] [ Main Page ]
- Dakota County USGenweb Archives
- [GenForum Message Boards] [Rootsweb Message Boards]
- Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
- Minnesota Family Group Sheets
- Meet your ancestors. Learn their stories. Start your FREE family tree.
- Minnesota Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
- Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
- Dakota County, Minnesota Family Books at Amazon.com
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Minnesota County History Name Index: This database is a name index of eleven county histories and plat books for the area immediately south of the city of St. Paul in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Researchers will find the name of the county resident, the book in which the person's name appears, and the page number. Where information is available, town of residence is also given.
Minnesota Crew Lists, 1929-1952: For several decades in the early half of the twentieth century, Two Harbors, Minnesota was one of the busiest iron ore loading ports in the world. This database is an index to the crew lists (NOT passenger lists) of vessels that arrived at Two Harbors,
The County is 587 square miles in area, originally vegetated with oak prairie savannas. Dakota County lies within the confluence of three of the four major rivers draining from the State of Minnesota -- the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers along the northern border and the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers on the eastern border. The County’s development and history have been greatly influenced by its proximity to these rivers. The western boundary of the county was the Missouri River, which is now halfway across the Dakotas. The county was named for the people who inhabited it prior to white settlement, the Dakota people. Some of the earliest immigrants to Dakota County were the French-Canadians who came to trade for furs with the Dakota people. Eagan and Mendota were largely settled by French-Canadians. Migration to Dakota County continued with people who left the eastern United States, or who were called Old Stock Americans, in the early to mid-1850s. In the latter part of the 19th century, immigrants came from Ireland, Germany, Norway, etc. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries people began to come from eastern European nations such as Poland, Romania, and Austria-Hungary (Croatia and Serbia) to work either for the railroads or for the packing houses in South St. Paul. The 20th century has seen immigration from Mexico, Laos and Somalia in addition to migration from the larger metropolitan areas.
Previous to European settlement, Dakota County was part of an expansive territory of the Dakota tribe of American Indians. In 1689, Nicholas Perrot, a fur trader, proclaimed possession of Dakota, Ojibwe (Chippewa), and other American Indian lands for the nation of France, without the consent of the tribes. Lands west of the Mississippi River were annexed from France to the United States in 1805 through the Louisiana Purchase.
In 1849, the Minnesota Territory legislature created nine original counties, including Dakota. The County’s original boundary extended only as far south as Hastings, but extended west several hundred miles to the Missouri River. The County seat was first established in Kaposia in 1853, was moved to Mendota in 1854, and moved again to Hastings in 1857, where it currently resides. Mendota, directly across the river from Fort Snelling, became the first European settlement in Minnesota. As American Indians were systematically removed from their lands and rebellions moved further to the west, large numbers of European settlers began arriving to the region in the mid-1850s. With increased population, Minnesota became a state in May 1858, nine years after the inception of Dakota County.
The earliest settlement in Dakota County is Mendota, made possible by the establishment of Fort Snelling in 1819-1820. It is home to St. Peter's church, the oldest continuously operating stone church in the state of Minnesota, and the homes of Henry Hastings Sibley and Jean Baptiste Faribault, built in 1835 and 1839 respectively. The Mendota Bridge connects Mendota to Hennepin County and was the longest continuous concrete arch bridge in the world when it was completed in 1926.
The city of Hastings, established in the early 1850s, was originally called Oliver's Grove, and then Olive Grove, for the band of soldiers who wintered at the site during the winter of 1819-1820 under Lieutenant Oliver. Hastings has many National Register sites including two districts. One site which is not on the Register is the Vermillion Falls just south of the ConAgra Mill on Vermillion St. (Hwy. 61). This mill is the oldest continuously operating flour mill in the state of Minnesota, starting in 1853. The Hastings Courthouse on Vermillion has been restored and reopened as Hastings city hall.
Dakota County has lost a great deal of agricultural land to housing developments in cities such as Eagan, Apple Valley, and Burnsville. Dakota County has also lost agricultural land to industrial parks and has been threatened by a proposed airport in the Marshan area. More and more of Dakota County's inhabitants earn their living elsewhere and live in the county as opposed to earlier generations who earned their living from the land. The population of the county has increased dramatically from 8,556 in 1860 to 39,660 in 1940, to 335,904 in 2000.
County Courthouse
After the county seat was moved three times, the citizens of Dakota County finally organized their government in Hastings and built the first courthouse in 1870 at a cost of $95,000. The two-story red brick and stone building sits on a square block within East Third, East Fourth, Sibley, and Vermillion Streets.
Designed by A.M. Radcliffe in the Italian Villa style, the courthouse has four symmetrical facades. The central bay is pedimented and projects slightly from the face of the building. Corners are defined by two-and-one-half story mansard-roofed towers. White brush-hammered limestone was used for the foundation and window hoods. Keystone arches over windows, bracketed cornices, and a central cupola are also included. The north entry features a portico with paired fluted Corinthian columns.
In 1912, the original cupola was removed and replaced by a larger domed circular cupola in the Renaissance Revival style. At the same time, the corner towers were re-roofed without dormers. An addition on the west side of the courthouse was completed in 1955. The courthouse, pictured above, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
In 1974, Dakota County moved its court and other offices to the present $4 million Dakota County Government Center. The 98,000 square foot building includes a three-level atrium and sky-lit lobby. Four large chrome-plated ducts rise from the mechanical room in the basement through the open lobby to the third floor. Its dark, mulberry-toned jumbo brick contrasts with exposed reinforced concrete inside and out.
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