The Anoka State Hospital was established by an act of the legislature as the First State Asylum for the Insane. When it opened in 1900, the hospital served as a transfer asylum, admitting patients who were transferred from the state’s receiving hospitals, which admitted mentally ill patients for the first time. In 1951, it too, became a receiving hospital. The first residents, 100 male patients, came from St. Peter State Hospital and were considered to be "chronic, incurables." By 1906, 115 female patients had been transferred to the hospital from the facility in St. Peter. In 1909, it was decided that Anoka would admit only female transfer patients and that the state hospital in Hastings would admit the male transfer patients. However, construction of an additional building in 1925 allowed the hospital once again to admit male patients.
From 1948 to 1967, the hospital served as the tuberculosis treatment center for the mentally ill. During the early 1970s, the hospital administered programs for emotionally disturbed children and adolescents.
Some patient records for the Anoka State Hospital can be viewed in person at the library, however any which fall under restrictions will need to be reviewed by library staff prior to access. Please visit our State Hospital Records Research Request page for more information on ordering state hospital records through our distance research service.
To order a state hospital patient index and records search for an individual, please visit our State Hospital Records Request.
Admission Registers, 1900-1991
Registers date back to the opening of the hospital. All volumes organized chronologically by admission date and case file number. Includes, name, county, date admitted, age, civil condition, education nativity, type of insanity, and discharge information. Patients who were readmitted were given their original case file number, which appeared in red. No name index is included.
MNHS call number: Digital Finding Aid
Patient Registers and Indexes- Anoka, 1878-1924
Part of the Minnesota Division of Public Institutions Series
Alphabetical index by patient name, and statistical record that may include admission date, patient’s name and residence, relative, gender, age, marital status, nativity, parents’ nativity, occupation, habits, number of attacks, insane relations, number of admissions, previous hospital residence, discharge date, condition on discharge, and remarks.
MNHS call number: Digital Finding Aid
Obituary/Cemetery Records, 1900-1992
Obituary records include chronological record of deaths at the hospital. Information recorded may include: chronological number, date of death, name of patient, sex, age, civil condition, occupation, nativity, from what county sent, form of disease on admission, number of attacks, number of admissions, case number, date of admission, period of residence, total duration of illness, cause of death, disposal of remains. Also includes cemetery index for burials (1901-1965), and cemetery plat (undated).
MNHS call number: Digital Finding Aid
Aggregated Patient Cards, 1920s-1990s
Part of the Department of Human Services Administrative Records
Aggregated patient index cards from various state hospitals; information includes name, Department of Public Welfare number, birth date, birth place, county of commitment, county of residence, occupation, hospital, hospital case number, social security number, admittance history. Patients may have multiple cards.
MNHS call number: Digital Finding Aid
Note: These records include private information about individuals. Records with private information are closed for 75 years from date of last entry in the record and occasionally 100 years due to sensitive and/or third-party data. Researchers must apply for permission to use these records. Click here for more information on accessing restricted records.
Employee Time Record, 1901-1921
Monthly record of employees’ names, positions, and days of service.
MNHS call number: 108.G.15.7B.
Minnesota Division of Public Institutions Personnel Service Records- Anoka, 1934-1938.
Cards listing employee name, address, position, salary, brief statement of duties, data on previous state service, education, training, and personal and family information.
MNHS call number: 109.I.19.13B.
Note: These records include private information about individuals. Records with private information are closed for 75 years from date of last entry in the record and occasionally 100 years due to sensitive and/or third-party data. Researchers must apply for permission to use these records. Click here for more information on accessing restricted records.
Published Records and Reports, 1932-1982
Reports, newsletter, and miscellaneous print and near-print items of or about the hospital. The records cover various aspects of the hospital’s programs, activities, and history, including its newsletter, Ripples and Reflections (1971-1981), hospital histories (1932, 1948), and various publications covering such topics as patients, programs, and chemical dependency service.
MNHS call number: Digital Finding Aid
Population Records, 1900-1972
Daily (1900-1954) and monthly (1940-1972) population reports, giving summary statistics on population changes, and names of patients who were admitted, discharged, transferred, died, or who were away from the facility for other reasons. Also includes list of institutional deaths (1928-1959) and permits for burial or removal (1937-1954).
MNHS call number: Digital Finding Aid
Note: These records include private information about individuals. Records with private information are closed for 75 years from date of last entry in the record and occasionally 100 years due to sensitive and/or third-party data.. Researchers must apply for permission to use these records. Click here for more information on accessing restricted records.
Gale Family Library
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