Digital State Archives

History at your fingertips

A quiet revolution is taking place.

State governments have been sifting through their historical archives, digitizing records, and putting mountains of content on their websites.

• Use the sidebar menu to see a state-by-state listing of what's available.

The result is a goldmine of information, newly available online. This is great news for historians, professional genealogists, family history researchers, students, journalists, or anyone wanting to know more about the communities in which they live and work.

State archives are digitizing documents, photographs, videos, oral histories, music, deeds, artifacts, court records, slave emancipation records, newspapers, reports, military records, and so much more. These really are amazing resources.

It's a quiet revolution because hardly anyone knows about it. States have neither the skills nor the resources to fully market the information they are putting online. Many of the archives are not terribly user-friendly, so even users who stumble across the sites may not realize the treasures that await, if they just dig a bit.

This is my attempt at making things a bit better. This site will post regularly on content you can find in Digital State Archives, focusing on the hidden gems they contain. Check back regularly, as the site will update often.

Enjoy!