Douglas County, Minnesota Genealogy

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County Courthouse

Parent County

 * 1858--Douglas County was created 8 March 1858 from Cass and Pembina (Old) Counties. County seat: Alexandria
 * For a brief history of how Douglas County was named, click here, then select Douglas County.

Boundary Changes

 * In 1858 the territory of Douglas County was attached to Stearns County for civil and judicial purposes.

Record Loss

 * At the time of the Indian uprising of 1862 all records which they had were lost.
 * However, the first census of 1860 survived which listed seventy-one men in the area of the county with thirty-five married and seventy-eight children. Most of the earliest settlers were in their twenties and thirties from New England.

Cities
Alexandria | Brandon | Carlos | Evansville | Forada | Garfield | Kensington | Millerville | Miltona | Nelson | Osakis

Townships
Alexandria Township | Belle River Township | Brandon Township | Carlos Township | Evansville Township | Holmes City Township | Hudson Township | Ida Township | La Grand Township | Lake Mary Township | Leaf Valley Township | Lund Township | Millerville Township | Miltona Township | Moe Township | Orange Township | Osakis Township | Solem Township | Spruce Hill Township | Urness Township

Neighboring Counties

 * Grant
 * Otter Tail
 * Pope
 * Stearns
 * Stevens
 * Todd

Cemeteries
There are seventy-one cemeteries and burial sites in the twenty townships located in Douglas County. This website has a detailed listing of these cemeteries and their locations in the various townships.

Church
Forty-four churches were established between 1860 and 1910 by key ethnic groups in Douglas County. These ethnic groups included Norwegian (11 churches), German (10 churches), Swedish (20 churches), Finnish (2 churches), Danish (1 church), and American/British ethnicity (8 churches).

Norwegian Lutheran Churches:

Alexandria: First Lutheran (founded 1872), Bethesda (founded 1907)

Moe Township: Chippewa Lutheran (founded 1871); Grace Lutheran (founded 1881)

Land

 * County Recorder has land records from the late 1800’s.
 * The government land office, headquarters for a large area of the northwest, was located in Alexandria beginning 1868.
 * The land office moved to Fergus Falls, Minnesota in 1876 because most of the land in Douglas County had either been bought or homesteaded.

Local Histories
''Douglas County Album of the Ages. ''(Douglas County Historical Society: Taylor Publishing Co., 1982)

Larson, Constant. ''History of Douglas and Grant Counties, Minnesota: their people, industries, and institutions. ''(Indianapolis, IN: B.F. Bowen &amp; Company, Inc, 1916).

Naturalization Records

 * Douglas County Naturalization Records 1867 to 1947

Vital Records

 * County Recorder has birth, marriage, and death records from 1890
 * Address: Douglas County Courthouse, 305 8th Ave. W, Alexandria, MN 56308

Societies and Libraries

 * Douglas County Historical Society

Web Sites

 * Douglas County, MN Genealogy Forum (GenForum)