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Subject files and correspondence of territorial governor Gorman. A large proportion relate to territorial officers' appointments and commissions. Letters received and sent address the following topics: concerns of federal civilian agencies, military and Indian affairs in general, the 1855 treaty with the Winnebago Indians, land sales, the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad Company, and other territorial affairs. Also present are a legislative diary (Jan. 27-March 6, 1857), pardon records, petitions regarding local government organization, reports from territorial officers, and requests from other states for return of fugitives.

Gorman's governorship spanned a period of both tangible and speculative growth in the state's infrastructure and economy, with numerous railroads, educational institutions, and corporations being chartered, new counties established, new towns incorporated, and several Indian treaties ratified. The surviving records contain only sketchy information on these developments, and do not appear to contain any significant documentation on an abortive 1857 scheme to remove the state capital from St. Paul to St. Peter.

Both to and from various states.

Reports of activities, and financial reports including lists of expenditures and various receipts.

Reports that include activities of the board and minutes of board meetings.

Bills, correspondence, and reports dealing with its incorporation and with the political maneuverings surrounding its proposed land grant.

Designating November 21, 1854, and November 20, 1855 as days of Thanksgiving.

Various requests and petitions for the establishment of election precincts in Portsmouth and the Sioux Agency, for the organization of local governments in Rice County and Steele County, for a town organization in Bangor, for a vigilance committee to suppress liquor traffic at Traverse des Sioux, and for a certification of election districts in Carver County.

Requests and petitions for pardons and commutations; governor's pardon; orders for release and related court records; letters for persons convicted and sentenced for various offenses, including murder, assault with intent to kill, assault and battery, simple assault, and resisting an officer; and letters asking for the release of an Indian hostage.

Letters from Senator Henry M. Rice and others about a variety of territorial affairs.