In 1935 the Minnesota legislature established a commission to locate a fourth state hospital in the northeastern section of the state. They selected land adjacent to the village of Moose Lake in Carlton County. Construction began in November 1936, and the hospital accepted its first patients, transfers from the Fergus Falls and St. Peter state hospitals, on May 2, 1938.
The hospital was designed to be an independent community, with administration, medical center, receiving wards for men and women, kitchen, bakery, laundry, powerhouse and sewage disposal units, four dormitories for patients, a nurses’ home, and a superintendent’s residence. In 1949 two buildings for male and female geriatric patients and a combination auditorium, library, and occupational therapy building were constructed.
Early treatments used at the hospital included insulin, electroshock, hydrotherapy, and physiotherapy. In the 1950s lobotomies were used on some patients. By 1961, treatment of alcoholism was a specialization of Moose Lake. In 1972 the hospital began a long -term chemical dependency program and in 1984 implemented a collaborative inpatient/outpatient chemical dependency program. In 1966 a program for adolescents was begun, in which some of the participants attended public school and gained high school credits. Also in 1966 all of the hospital’s medical/surgical wards were closed. With the closing of the Rochester State Hospital in 1982, Moose Lake received fifty patients, and began development of a specialized geriatric (psycho-geriatric) program. By the 1980s the hospital had four active programs serving either all of or parts of thirteen counties. In 1985 the institution’s name was changed to Moose Lake Regional Treatment Center.
Some patient records for the Moose Lake 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.
Patient Records, 1930s-1990s
Patient index cards. Information includes name, patient number, date admitted, religion, social security number, birth date, date transferred or discharged.
MNHS call number: Digital Finding Aid
Admission and Discharge Records, 1938-1995
Records of patient admission (1938-1995) and discharge (1965-1968, 1970-1971) at the hospital. Information provided may include patient’s name, whole number (case file number), previous number, admission date, residence, sex, age, nativity, parents’ nativity, occupation, education, habits, previous hospital residence, form of insanity, discharge date, condition on discharge, and remarks.
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.
Minnesota Division of Public Institutions Personnel Service Records - Moose Lake, 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.19.14F.
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. Researchers must apply for permission to use these records. Click here for more information on accessing restricted records.
Miscellaneous Records, 1930s-1995
Files documenting a wide variety of activities and functions at the hospital, including general and programmatic brochures, menus, clothing issue books, library accession books, photographs, executive summaries, employee registration and hiring book, staff probation book, scale drawings, procedures book, volunteer manuals, accident summaries, Catholic patient anointed book, fire plan, goods received and disbursed, hospital policies, and historical data, especially of the chemical dependency unit.
MNHS call number: Digital Finding Aid
Lakeside News, 1939
Moose Lake, Minn., Moose Lake State Hospital, 1939-
MNHS call number: FOLIO RC445.M6 M81
Newsletters, 1939-1995
Moose Lake, Minn., Moose Lake State Hospital, 1939-
MNHS call number: Digital Finding Aid
Note: These records may include private information about individuals. Records with private information are closed for 75 years from date of last entry in the record. Researchers must apply for permission to use these records. Click here for more information on accessing restricted records.
Gale Family Library
Minnesota Historical Society Library
Located on the Second Floor of the Minnesota History Center
345 West Kellogg Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55102
Library Hours:
Thursday to Saturday: 10am to 4pm
Sunday to Wednesday: Closed
More Information on Visiting the Library
Contact Us:
651-259-3300
