Houston County, Minnesota Genealogy

United States

Minnesota

Houston County

Guide to Houston County, Minnesota ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Minnesota Online Genealogy Records

County Facts County seat: Caledonia Organized: February 23, 1854 Parent County(s): Fillmore Neighboring Counties Allamakee County, (IA) • Fillmore • La Crosse (WI) • Vernon (WI) • Winneshiek (IA) • Winona See County Maps Courthouse Location Map

County Information

Description

The county was named for Sam Houston, who was president of Texas before its annexation by the United States and afterward was a senator from that state. The county is located in the southeast area of the state.

County Courthouse

Houston County Justice Center
306 S Marshall St
Caledonia, MN 55921
Phone: 507-724-7002
Houston County Website

Clerk District Court has birth and death records from 1870, marriage records from 1854, court records from 1856 and divorce records.
Probate Judge has probate records.
Register of Deeds has land records.

Houston County, Minnesota Record Dates

Information for this chart was taken from various sources, often containing conflicting dates. This information should be taken as a guide and should be verified by contacting the county and/or the state government agency.

Known Beginning Dates for Government County Records
Birth*	Marriage	Death*	Court	Land	Probate	Census
1870	1854	1870	1856	1856	1867	1836
*Statewide registration started for births in 1900 and deaths in 1908. General compliance by 1915.

Record Loss

There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes

1854--Houston County was created February 23, 1854 from Fillmore County. County seat: Caledonia Minnesota Individual County Chronologies - Newberry Library list of all boundary changes by county Minnesota Historical Borders - Map at Newberry Library Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; Also at: mapofus.org - animated maps illustrating Minnesota county boundary changes

Populated Places

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator. The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

Cities
Brownsville Caledonia Eitzen	Hokah Houston	La Crescent Spring Grove
Unincorporated communities
Bee Black Hammer Freeburg Jefferson Mayville	Money Creek Newhouse Pine Creek Reno River Junction	Willington Grove Wilmington Yucatan
Townships
Black Hammer Brownsville Caledonia Crooked Creek Hokah Houston	Jefferson La Crescent Mayville Money Creek Mound Prairie Sheldon	Spring Grove Union Wilmington Winnebago Yucatan

Resources

Bible Records

• Houston County, Minnesota Families and Family Bible Index at Genealogy Trails

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Houston County, Minnesota online and in print
Tombstone Transcriptions Online	BillionGraves Find a Grave MN Tombstone Transcription Project MNGenWeb USGenWeb Archives
Tombstone Transcriptions in Print (Often more complete)	FamilySearch Library WorldCat
List of Cemeteries in the County	FamilySearch Places Find a Grave
See Minnesota Cemeteries for more information.

Census Records

For links to Federal, State, and Territorial censuses, see Minnesota Census.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1860	6,645	—
1870	14,936	124.8%
1880	16,332	9.3%
1890	14,653	−10.3%
1900	15,400	5.1%
1910	14,297	−7.2%
1920	14,013	−2.0%
1930	13,845	−1.2%
1940	14,735	6.4%
1950	14,435	−2.0%
1960	16,588	14.9%
1970	17,556	5.8%
1980	18,382	4.7%
1990	18,497	0.6%
2000	19,718	6.6%
2010	19,027	−3.5%
Source: "Wikipedia.org".

State Census

• 1835-1890 Minnesota, U.S., Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1835-1890 at Ancestry ($)
• 1849-1905 Minnesota, U.S., Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905 at Ancestry ($)
• 1865 Minnesota State Census, 1865 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images.
• 1875 Minnesota State Census, 1875 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images.
• 1885 Minnesota State Census, 1885 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images.
• 1905 Minnesota State Census, 1905 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images.

Church Records

Most church records are held by individual churches. Some denominations are gathering their records into a central repository. For more information, see Minnesota Church Records.

• FamilySearch Places
  

Lutheran
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Caledonia

• Evangelical Lutheran Church in America database at Archives.com ($) has the following information:
  • Immanuel Lutheran Church, Caledonia
  • Trinity Lutheran Church, Spring Grove
• Minnesota Historical Society has a Collection Finding Aid for the following:
  • Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: An Inventory of Selected Congregational Records of the American Lutheran Church in Minnesota

Directories

• 1970-2024 United States, Residence Database, 1970-2024 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index, coverage may vary

Emigration and Immigration

• 1912-1956 Minnesota Passenger and Crew Lists, 1912-1956 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images.

Funeral Homes

• Hoff Funeral and Cremation Services in Houston.
• Roble Funeral Home in Spring Grove.

Land and Property Records

The county register of deeds keeps land records once the land was transferred to private ownership. Abstracts and indexes for these records are generally available at the county courthouse.

Online Land Indexes and Records

• Pre-1908 Minnesota, Homestead and Cash Entry Patents, Pre-1908 at Ancestry ($)
• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Houston County. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the wiki page section Minnesota Local Histories.

• Neill, Edward D.; Bryant, Charles S.; History of Houston County: including explorers and pioneers ... (Minneapolis: Minnesota Historical Company, 1882) Online at FamilySearch Digital Library, Google Books, HathiTrust.
• Palmquist, Anita Lee; Second subject and name index to History of Houston County, Minnesota, 1882 Online at FamilySearch Digital Library
• History of Houston County at FamilySearch Catalog; scroll to Film/Digital Notes, then select the camera icon to view images; also available online at Internet Archive

Maps and Gazetteers

Click a neighboring county
for more resources

• FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places
• Houston County, MN Maps at David Rumsey Map Collection
• Minnesota Department of Transportation, Houston County municipality and township maps

Military Records

Multiple Wars

• 1861-1917 United States Civil War and Later Pension Index, 1861-1917 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection
• 1898-1899 Minnesota Volunteers in the Spanish American War and the Philippine Insurrection at Ancestry ($)

Civil War

• 1861-1865 U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 at Ancestry; Free index
• 1861-1865 Minnesota, U.S., Civil War Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry; Free index
• 1861-1865 Minnesota Civil War Soldiers at Ancestry; Free index
• 1861-1934 U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 at Ancestry; Free index

Civil War service men from Houston County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are many companies or regiments that were formed from men of Houston County.

- 1st Regiment, Minnesota Cavalry (Mounted Rangers), Companies A and G.

- 2nd Regiment, Minnesota Cavalry, Companies A and D.

- 6th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company K.

- 10th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company F.

- 11th Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, Company K.

Spanish-American War

• 1898 U.S., Spanish American War Volunteers Index to Compiled Military Service Records, 1898 at Ancestry; Free index
• 1898-1899 Minnesota, U.S., Spanish American War Muster Rolls and Casualty Lists, 1898-1899 at Ancestry; Free index

World War I

• 1917-1918 U.S., World War I Civilian Draft Registrations, 1917-1918 at Ancestry (Free collection)
• 1917-1918 U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 at Ancestry; Free index, images ($)
• 1918-1941 Minnesota, World War I Records, 1918-1941 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection.

World War II

• 1940-1947 Minnesota, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1947 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images.
• 1940-1947 U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 at Ancestry; Free index images ($)
• 1942 U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 at Ancestry; Free index, images ($)

Naturalization and Citizenship

Online Naturalization Indexes and Records

• 1849-1985 Web: Minnesota, U.S., Naturalization Index, 1849-1985 at Ancestry (Free collection)
• 1872-1962 Minnesota Naturalization Records and Indexes, 1872-1962 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images.
• 1880-1920 Minnesota, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1880-1920 at Ancestry ($)
• 1918 Web: Minnesota, U.S., Alien Registration Index, 1918 at Ancestry (Free collection)

Newspapers

• Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub at Minnesota Historical Society; narrow to county (55 listed) or city (106 listed), search for surname, limit by date.
• 1800s-Current Minnesota, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-Current at Ancestry — index & images ($)

Obituaries

• 1813-Onward Minnesota Obituaries at MyHeritage — index ($)
• 1865-2006 Minnesota, Obituaries 1865-2006 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images.
• 1891-2003 Web: Minnesota, U.S., Obituary Index, 1891-2003 at Ancestry; Free index

Probate Records

Probate records may include wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions. They may include the decedent’s date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, etc. See Minnesota Probate Records for additional information.

Online Probate Indexes and Records

• 1801-1925 Minnesota, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1801-1925 at Ancestry ($)
• 1849-1985 Minnesota Will Records, 1849-1985 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index
• 1856-1952 Minnesota, Houston County, Will Records, 1856-1952(*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• 1860-1982 Index to Probate Records, 1860-1982; Probate Files, ca. 1861-1945(*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — index & images
• 1884-1919 Will Records, 1884-1919(*); Probate Court at FamilySearch Catalog — images
• Full-Text Search - Wills and Probate Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Social Security Records

• 1935-2014 United States Social Security Death Index at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index. Also at Ancestry, findmypast, Fold3, GenealogyBank, MyHeritage, and Steve Morse. Click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 at Ancestry ($) — index, click here for more information.
• 1936-2007 United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index

Tax Records

Since Minnesota tax records include only persons who owned taxable property, many residents were not included. Still they complement land records and can be used in place of missing censuses or the years between censuses. There may also be gaps. For more information, see the wiki page Minnesota Taxation.

Vital Records

Vital Records consist of births, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and deaths recorded on registers, certificates, and documents.

A copy or an extract of most original records can be purchased from the Minnesota Department of Health, Office of Vital Records, or the County Clerk's office of the county where the event occurred. See also Minnesota Vital Records.

Birth

• 1840-1980 Minnesota, U.S., Births and Christenings Index, 1840-1980 at Ancestry ($)
• 1900-1934 Minnesota People Records Search - Births at Minnesota Historical Society - free index, images ($)
• 1900-1934 Minnesota, Birth Index, 1900-1934 at MyHeritage; index ($)
• 1935-2000 Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1935-2000 at Ancestry ($)
• Minnesota, Births at MyHeritage — index ($)

Marriage

• 1850-2019 Web: Minnesota, U.S., Marriages from the Minnesota Official Marriage System, 1850-2019 at Ancestry (Free collection)
• 1850-Onward Minnesota, Marriages at MyHeritage — index ($)
• 1860-1949 Minnesota, County Marriages, 1860-1949 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1885-present Minnesota Official Marriage System at MOMS.mn.gov; search by county, name or date, and request copy.
• 1970-2003 Minnesota Marriage Records Index, 1970-2003 at Archives ($)
• 1976-2003 Minnesota, Marriages, 1976-2003 at MyHeritage; index ($)

Death

• 1850-2001 Minnesota, County Deaths, 1850-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1887-2001 Minnesota Deaths, 1887-2001 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1904-2001 Minnesota People Records Search - Deaths at Minnesota Historical Society - free index, images ($)
• 1904-2001 Minnesota, Death Index, 1904-2001 at MyHeritage; index ($)
• 1908-2017 Minnesota, U.S., Death Index, 1908-2017 at Ancestry ($)

Divorce

• 1970-1995 Minnesota, U.S., Divorce Index, 1970-1995 at Ancestry ($)
• 1970-2003 Minnesota Divorce Records Index, 1970-2003 at Archives ($)

Research Facilities

Archives

Listed below are archives in Houston County. For state-wide archival repositories, see Minnesota Archives and Libraries.

FamilySearch Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• LaCrosse Wisconsin FamilySearch Center
• Rochester Minnesota FamilySearch Center
• La Crosse Public Library-Archives Department - an affiliate library.
• Rochester Public Library - an affiliate library.

Libraries

Listed below are libraries in Houston County. For state-wide library facilities, see Minnesota Archives and Libraries.

Caledonia Public Library
231 E Main St
Caledonia, MN 55921
Phone: 507-725-2671
Website
Facebook

Hokah Public Library
57 Main St
PO Box 503
Hokah, MN 55941
Phone: 507-894-2665
Email: Gherman@selco.info
Website
Facebook

Houston Public Library
202 E Cedar
PO Box 37
Houston, MN 55943
Phone: 507-896-7323
Email: hpublib@gmail.com
Website
Facebook

LaCrosse Public Library
800 Main St
La Crosse, WI 54601
Phone: 608-789-7167
Email: libraryhelpdesk@lacrosselibrary.org
Website
Facebook

Museums

Houston County Historical Society Museum
104 History Ln
Caledonia, MN 55921
Phone: 507-725-3884
Email: hchs@acegroup.cc
Website
Facebook

Societies

Listed below are societies in Houston County. For state-wide genealogical societies, see Minnesota Societies.

Houston County Historical Society
104 History Ln
Caledonia, MN 55921
Phone: 507-725-3884
Email: hchs@acegroup.cc
Website
Facebook

La Crescent Area Historical Society
328 S Third St
PO Box 193
La Crescent, MN 55947
Phone: 507-895-1857
Email: lahs1857@gmail.com
Website
Facebook

Websites

• Research Resources at Norwegian Ridge
• Research at Minnesota Historical Society — links to Records and Indexes; See also MHS Wiki Page
• MN USGenWeb Archives, an affiliate of USGenWebArchives.
• Houston, MNGenWeb Project,a member of MNGenWeb Project, an affiliate of USGenWeb Project.
• Iron Range Research Center The Iron Range Research Center contains one of the largest collections of genealogical and local history research materials in the Upper Midwest and includes census, naturalization records, passenger arrival records, mining company newsletters, and a survey of Women in Industry taken in 1919, among many others.
• FamilySearch Catalog – The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records.