Sources

Directory of Faribault State School and Hospital Documents

https://mn.gov/mnddc/past/pdf/pdf-index_st-inst-by-inst-faribault.html

This is a massive directory of institutional documents from the 1880s to the 1980s. An annotated version with notes on the content of these documents can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DftlbiKP1DVQt1OiMuR9zNeNMw10kwVwRXPCkJzQ0ls/edit?usp=sharing

Dave Campbell Documents

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1O1100Rrt5qc0YGbXLqb0c0QPNHBynLja?usp=sharing

This is a massive collection of documents that we received from Dave Campbell covering events at the Faribault Regional Center in the 1970s and 80s. It includes issues of the staff publication, The Round Table, informational leaflets, internal circulars and memos, and handwritten patient notes.

Women of River Bend Nature Center

https://www.southernminn.com/faribault_daily_news/opinion/guest_columns/women-of-river-bend-nature-center/article_df7d4d56-2b63-5703-8e1e-d8559711c2ba.html

Discusses the lives of and work done by women in the Nature Center. 

Treaty of Mendota, 1851

https://www.mnopedia.org/event/treaty-mendota-1851d)

This source discusses the Treaty of Mendota. This important event in the history of Indigenous dispossession in Minnesota is important for understanding the history of the land upon which the RBNC is now situated.

State Hospitals: Historical Patient Records: Faribault State School & Hospital

https://libguides.mnhs.org/sh/faribault

This website was used for much of the general information on Faribault Institutions, and specific information about the Faribault State School & Hospital.

​​https://mn.gov/mnddc/past/pdf/70s/79/79-CFS-AAM.pdf

With an Eye To the Past: Sam Newland

https://mn.gov/mnddc/past/1960/1960s-5.html

This article provides information about Sam Newland’s Minneapolis Tribune articles on the Institution published in the late 1960s. 

Orwin Rustad, “A Journal of Natural Events in Southeastern Minnesota”

Rustad’s book is mostly a guide to local flora and fauna, but several chapters also relate the history of the RBNC.

Grand Opening Fall Newsletter

RBNC

rbnc.org

The basic outline of the RBNC’s history can be found on their website. 

The Heroes of River Bend Nature Center Part 1: Early Heroes

https://rbnc.wordpress.com/2017/04/22/the-heroes-of-river-bend-nature-center-part-1-early-heroes/

This blog post details much of the early history of the RBNC, as told by an employee. 

Orwin Rustad: Obituary 

https://www.parkerkohlfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Orwin-Rustad

Rustad’s obituary tells the story of a life full of accomplishment. 

Career Navigator: RBNC

https://careernavigatormn.org/exhibit/riverbend-nature-center/

RBNC: Orwin Rustad

https://rbnc.org/orwin-rustad

The RBNC published a “throwback Thursday” post about their founder, Orwin Rustad. 

River Bend Nature Center: The Story of a Community

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvgqqSglAKo

An independent documentary about the history of the RBNC, containing many interviews. Beware: some of the dates in this video may be inaccurate or are not corroborated by other sources. These dates were not used. 

A Brief History of the Welsch Case

https://mn.gov/mnddc/past/pdf/80s/82/82-granquist-history-welsch.pdf

This document was used as a supplementary source for the timeline on the Welsch v. Likins Class Action Lawsuit.