Directories: Suburan & Rural

Suburban
A post WWII population boom along with economic growth spurred the growth of the suburbs. The cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul experienced this growth as well.

Suburban directories began being published in Minnesota in the late 1940's and early 1950's, particularly for the suburbs surrounding the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.  Some directories include several suburban areas. For example, the St.Paul North Suburban City Directory Collections covers the suburban areas of Roseville,  Falcon Heights, White Bear Lake, etc..  

These directories include much the same information as a city directory, are alphabetical by surname, address and include occupation or employer and classified business listings.

Rural
Most rural areas did not have a directory published as did the more populated city areas. However, many county atlases and plat books include as part of their publications a directory of each township.  These include a plat of each township along with a listing of the farmers in the area and may also list spouses and children. 

To locate a suburban directory in the Library's collections:

• Search the library catalog.
   
• Enter the city [Minneapolis or St. Paul] suburban directories in the search box (i.e. St. Paul suburban directories). You may also search with the name of the suburb such as "Edina directories".
   
• Be sure that MNHS Library & Archives Catalog is selected from the drop-down menu
   
• Hit the enter key or click on the magnifying glass icon. 

To locate a rural directory in the Library's collections:

• Search the library catalog
   
• Enter [county name] directories (i.e. Wright county directories) in the search box.
   
• Be sure that MNHS Library & Archives Catalog is selected from the drop-down menu
   
• Hit the enter key or click on the magnifying glass icon.