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The Arizona Historical Society Library and Archives’ four regional repositories actively collect and preserve manuscripts, maps, personal papers, photographs, films, oral histories, books and other materials that chronicle the history of Arizona, the West and Northern Mexico as it pertains to Arizona.
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Society museums’ non-circulating libraries provide research areas, viewing and listening equipment, and professional staff to assist students, researchers and the general public.
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The four AHS museums house more than 500,000 prints, slides, and original negatives that display a visual record of Arizona from the 1870s to the present. Copies are available by contacting AHS archives staff in the region closest to the subject matter.
Pioneer memoirs, diaries, letters and oral interviews with people from all walks of life give a personal view of Arizona’s rich heritage. Periodicals and books provide insight and cover a wide range of topics of interest.
Library and Archive Locations
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The Arizona Historical Society Archives are located in our museums in Flagstaff, Tempe, Tucson, and Yuma. For your convenience, a substantial portion of our holdings can be searched online using our LISTA Online Database.
Searchable Online Archive Catalogs
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Click here to access LISTA, the Arizona Historical Society’s online library and archives database, which contains records for books located in the Tucson and Tempe libraries. LISTA also lists maps, oral histories, ephemera files, and manuscript and photograph collections for the Tucson archives only. You may access online catalogs for the AHS collections in Flagstaff through Northern Arizona University’s Cline Library web site.
The AHS Pioneer Museum archives are stored at the Northern Arizona University’s Cline Library. This provides researchers with a single access point to a broad range of Flagstaff and northern Arizona photographs and documents. There are more than 50,000 images as well as 1,600 linear feet of archival materials and manuscripts in the collections. The archives include business records, county records, the Gladwell Richardson research collection, Arizona Lumber and Timber Company holdings, and documents and maps connected with Northern Arizona history.
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Click here to access the Northern Arizona Historical Society online archives catalog
The Cline Library documents Colorado Plateau regional history with a rich array of archival and published material focused on history, anthropology, geography, environmental science, and a variety of related disciplines. The collections’ strengths include the Colorado River and Grand Canyon, Native American history and culture in Arizona’s “Four Corners” area, land use and environment, and economic development.
Cline Library Digital Archives
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Viewers may experience thousands of historic and contemporary photographs and virtual exhibits online at the Colorado Plateau digital archives. NAU archivists and web designers have combined diaries and letters, oral history recordings, films, slides and maps to present state-of-the-art online exhibits of Flagstaff and northern Arizona history. Photo Collections
Many of the photograph collections stored at the Cline Library are available for online viewing. Click here to view the Photo Archive Finding Guide.
Online digital exhibits include:
Cline Library hours and map
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Cline Library Special Collections and Archives hours are summer Mon - Fri 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fall & Spring Mon - Fri 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Call (928) 523-6805 for holiday hours and seasonal changes.
Click http://home.nau.edu/maps.asp to access an online map of the NAU Campus. The Cline Library is building number 28. For complete listings of AHS archival holdings, including graphics collections, map collections, oral histories, and vertical files, contact: AHSFlagstaff@azhs.gov
You may search LISTA, the library collection catalogue online at http://lista.azhist.arizona.edu
The AHS Museum at Papago Park library and archives consist of manuscripts, personal papers, photographs, books, periodicals, oral histories and architectural drawings. Photograph collections display a visual record of Phoenix and central Arizona from late 19th century to the present. Larger collections feature ranching activities, dams and water, military bases, and Valley National Bank records.
Distinctive Collections
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The Phoenix History Project is comprised of photographs, documents, and 500 oral history interviews collected in the mid-1970s for the Phoenix centennial commemoration, many of them with key participants in the growth of the 20th-century desert metropolis. Interviews with Sandra Day O’Connor and other important Arizonans provide a wealth of primary source material.
The Lescher-Mahoney architectural drawing collection contains more than 19,000 drawings dating from the early 1900s to 1976. This collection includes residences, churches, resorts, schools, offices, and government buildings.
The KOOL Television Channel 10 news film collection consists of 750 cubic foot boxes of commercial, stock, documentary, and news film and videotapes from 1955 through 1985.
Tempe Library and Archives hours:
Hours currently in transition. Please call for availability.
1300 North College Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281
(480) 929-0292, ext. 174
AHSRefpapago@azhs.gov
You may search LISTA, the library collection catalogue online at http://lista.azhist.arizona.edu
The Tucson library and archives contains thousands of unpublished manuscripts, memoirs, diaries, company records, organizational papers, correspondence, biographical files, surveys, and government reports, as well as more than 50,000 books documenting the history of Arizona.
Highlights of the 5,000-item map collection include 18th century Spanish colonial maps, U.S. territory and railroad surveys, city plot maps, mining maps, U.S. military maps and early Arizona road maps.
In addition, Tucson library and archives has a large collection of Arizona newspapers, census records, military posts, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps and County Great Registers. There is also a vast collection of newspaper clipping files that cover such topics as towns, ranches, schools and theaters.
Oral Histories
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The Arizona Historical Society collects and transcribes oral histories documenting the rich history of Southern Arizona. Some of the major projects have been the urbanization of Tucson, Southern Arizona medical history, legal history, the Mexican-American Heritage Project, and individual reminiscences.
Photographs
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The photographic archives contain approximately 750,000 images that provide a visual legacy of Arizona history. The photos document mining, railroads, Native Americans, ranching, military posts, portraits of historic figures, and historic street scenes of Tucson and many other Arizona locations. The collections include works by C.S. Fly, O.A. Risdon, Forman Hanna and Carleton Watkins.
The Henry and Albert Buehman Collection is the largest single photograph collection, containing more than 250,000 images. Three generations of the national renowned Buehman family operated a photographic studio in Tucson from 1873 into the 1950s.
Photo Service
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Digital files on CD-Rom are available at $18.00 per image. Orders are usually processed within four to six weeks. Click here for a Digital Reproduction Order Form, and here for a Permission to Use Form.
Research Requests
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The Library and Archives staff answer research requests received by e-mail, mail, telephone, and fax. Requests are answered in the order received. Due to the large number of questions received, please allow up to five weeks for a reply.
Our reference service is designed to answer short, factual questions related to our collections. If your request requires more in-depth research, we offer limited service for a fee of $15.00 which covers up to 30 minutes of research, ten photocopies, and postage. Additional photocopies are .25 each. For more extensive research needs we can provide a list of local independent researchers.
To make a request for research, email AHSref@azhs.gov. Please indicate the maximum amount you authorize for photocopies and include your mailing address.
Tucson Library and Archives hours:
CLOSED December 23, 2009 - January 2, 2010
Regular Hours
Tue. – Fri., 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; 1st & 3rd Sat. of the month 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
949 E. 2nd St., Tucson, AZ 85719
Phone: (520) 628-5774, Fax: (520) 629-8966
Email: AHSref@azhs.gov
The Arizona Historical Society in Yuma actively collects photographs, maps, manuscripts, oral histories, books and other materials that document the history of the lower Colorado River region from 1540 to the present.
The collections are available to researchers on a non-circulating basis by appointment only. Copies of photographs and photocopies are available for many collections and costs vary depending on the project.
The Library and Archives has approximately 800 books and magazines, 12,602 photographs, 46 photograph albums, 402 maps, 578 oral histories, 795 periodicals, 41 rolls of microfilm, 36 films/videos, approximately 300 linear feet of paper documents, as well as biographical and clip files arranged by subject, and cemetery records for many areas.
Special photographic collection highlights include business, transportation, towns, mining, agriculture, irrigation and individual pictures from 1870 to 1915, Bureau of Reclamation irrigation projects from the turn of the century through the 1950s, Agua Caliente Hot Springs, and aerial photographs from the 1940s and 1950s.
Yuma Library and Archives hours:
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Tues. – Fri., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
248 S. Madison Avenue, Yuma, AZ 85364
Ph. (928) 782-1841
AHSYuma@azhs.gov
In attempting to preserve cultural heritage, culturally and historically significant collections and sites, that were formerly the property of elites, are transferred into public hands as a national legacy. That legacy is then made available in museums for the enrichment, education and collective identity of the citizenry. - Flora Edouwaye S. Kaplan
The Arizona Historical Society Research Program was established in 2004 and was designed to support advanced scholarship. Our programs offer a multitude of opportunities for historians, scholars, writers, artists, filmmakers, and others to explore the Society's archives housed in our Flagstaff, Tempe, Tucson and Yuma museums.
We are fortunate this year to be able to offer several unique programs and services including:
- Grant opportunities
- Access to LISTA, our online searchable database catalogue
Building on our strengths, we continue making important contributions to scholarship and supporting research efforts. The exploration of critical historical issues is dependent on increasing our general research endowment funds. If you are interested in assisting with these efforts, please contact our Research Office here.
Anne I. Woosley, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Research Grant Program
The Arizona Historical Society announces the availability of awards for qualified applicants to pursue research using the vast resources of the Arizona Historical Society. The Research Grant Program is intended to support advanced work in history, government, legal or public policy, and the arts as it pertains to Arizona, the West, and northern Mexico.
Project Eligibility
Applicants working on doctoral dissertations and those at the post doctoral level are encouraged to apply, but any proposal for advanced research will be considered. Projects involving alternative uses of archival records, such as background research for multimedia projects, exhibits, documentary films, and historical novels, are also eligible. The topic or area of study must draw, at least in part, on the holdings of the Arizona Historical Society Archives.
Preference is given to projects that focus on little-used holdings not available electronically or on microfilm and have a high probability of publication or other public dissemination.
Deadlines
- Due to the number of current fellowships, AHS is not receiving additional applications until September 1, 2010.
- Project Period: Up to twelve months
- Proposals are reviewed by a panel of scholars and archivists familiar with the Arizona Historical Society and its holdings.
Awards
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Award amounts are greater for in-depth research over a substantial period of time, but generally fall in the $500-$2,500 range per project. Awards are intended to defray costs of travel, living expenses, and/or other research-related costs, while also rewarding scholarship, creativity, and promise.
Fellowship Requirements
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Fellowships must be completed no later than one year from date of acceptance of award. At the end of the project, awardees are expected to submit a final report on their research experience. Residents are expected to make one public presentation in Arizona on their projects.
Application Process
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download the Research Grant Application.
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