Regional Primary Source Collections
- Library of Congress State Digital ResourcesA directory of statewide digital collections, including: Memory Projects, Online Encyclopedias, Historical & Cultural Materials Collections
Primary Sources from California & the West
(California, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming)
For California or Western Newspapers see Historical Newspapers tab above.
- American West This link opens in a new windowLogin required
A major digital collection containing original manuscripts, ephemeral material, maps and rare printed works, from the Graff Collection at the Newberry Library, Chicago
- The Autry’s Collections OnlineContains data, records and images the Autry museums and libraries.
- California Heritage CollectionThis University of California-Berkeley Bancroft Library site provides access to over 30,000 images illustrating California's history and culture
- California State LibraryThe State Library is California's public research library; along with its catalog, its site serves as a gateway to many research resources, including many accessible online
- Calisphere Digital Archive This link opens in a new windowThis University of California/California Digital Library site provides access to primary resources covering California history from 1780 on, and includes several themed collections
- Huntington LibraryThis website provides key information about the library as well as access to its online catalog
- New Perspectives on the West(PBS Series produced by Ken Burns) This multimedia site provides information and primary source materials to accompany the 8-part 1996 documentary series
- Regional Oral History Office (ROHO)UC-Berkeley, Bancroft Library
- Southern California Library (SCL)The SCL documents and preserves the histories of communities in struggle for justice and uses its collections to address the challenges of the present
- Trail TribesThis site, developed by the Regional Learning Project at the University of Montana–Missoula, provides access to "history with a tribal perspective, along trails followed by Lewis and Clark"
- Western Americana CollectionFrom Princeton University. Includes of photographs of Indians of the Americas and views of the American West, including landscapes, cityscapes, and mining, railroad, and agricultural operations. The bulk of the photographs date from the 19th century.
Primary Sources from the Northeast
(Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont)
For Northeastern Newspapers see Historical Newspapers tab above.
- Archives of Maryland OnlineThis resource provides access to over 471,000 historical documents concerning the constitutional, legal, legislative, judicial, and administrative basis of Maryland's government.
- Class and Leisure at America's First Resort: Newport, Rhode Island, 1870-1914This University of Virginia site provides photos and other resources for studying class and leisure in the Gilded Age via particular attention to this seaside resort.
- Gateway to North America: The People, Places, and Organizations of 19th-Century New York This link opens in a new windowA collection over 800,000 pages of from 1,500 historical directories, member lists, travel guides, and other name-sources from the New-York Historical Society. These primary sources chronicle the people and organizations as they developed over time and place.
Primary Sources from the Southeast
(Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington D.C.)
For Southeastern Newspapers see Historical Newspapers tab above.
- The Blues, Black Vaudeville, and the Silver Screen, 1912-1930sThis collection consists of selected correspondence, financial records, contracts, and advertising materials from the Douglass Theatre's records in the Middle Georgia Archives' Charles Henry Douglass business records, and it documents the amusements available to Macon's African American population and the business dealings of this African American entrepreneur from 1912 to the 1930s.
- Documenting the American South (DocSouth)This University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill site provides access to texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture. Currently DocSouth includes fourteen thematic collections of books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs
- Florida MemoryIncludes documents, videos, photographs, audio and more
- Louisiana Digital LibraryThis site contains nearly 144,000 photographs, maps, manuscript materials, books, oral histories, and more that document Louisiana history and culture
- Free People of Color in Louisiana: Revealing an Unknown PastThis collection of 25,000 digitized items are from the Historical Center at the Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans, the Louisiana Division of the New Orleans Public Library, The Historic New Orleans Collection, and Tulane University’s Louisiana Research Collection.
- Virginia MemoryFrom the Library and state archives of Virginia. This site includes collections of print materials, manuscripts, archival records, newspapers, photographs and ephemera, maps and atlases, rare books, and fine art that tell the history of the commonwealth and its people.
- West Virginia History On ViewPhotographs from the West Virginia and Regional History Collection – Made available by West Virginia University, this site includes thousands of digitized photos.
- O SAY CAN YOU SEE: Early Washington D.C., Law & FamilyExplores multigenerational black, white, and mixed family networks in early Washington, D.C., by collecting, digitizing, making accessible, and analyzing thousands of case files from the Circuit Court for the District of Columbia, Maryland state courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court
Primary Sources from the Midwest
(Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota)
For Midwestern Newspapers see Historical Newspapers tab above.
- The Filson Historical SocietyThe Filson Historical Society, founded in 1884, is a privately supported historical society dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the significant history and culture of Kentucky and the Ohio Valley. We have served the public through our extensive and historic collections of original manuscripts, letters, diaries, photographs, architectural records, rare imprints, books, maps, newspapers, textiles, portraits, and other three dimensional items. Our collections form a regional educational resource that attracts national and international researchers.
- Lincoln/NetDates covered: 1830-1861
This Northern Illinois University site presents primary source materials from Lincoln's Illinois years (1830-1861) and other resources for study of antebellum Illinois. - Ohio MemoryThis portal, developed by the Ohio Historical Society and the State Library of Ohio, compiles links to resources from over 300 libraries, archives, and museums to document Ohio from prehistory to the present
Primary Sources from the Southwest
(Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas)
For Southwestern Newspapers see Historical Newspapers tab above.
- Arizona Memory ProjectMade available by the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records division. This collection contains over 89,000 digital items related to Arizona history and culture.
- New Mexico’s Digital CollectionsHosted by the University of New Mexico Libraries, these collections originate from the University of New Mexico and other New Mexico cultural heritage institutions. These collections contain documents, photographs, maps, posters, art and music.
- Portal to Texas HistoryThis University of North Texas Libraries site provides links to unique collections from Texas libraries, museums, archives, historical societies, genealogical societies, and private family collections
- Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO)Provides descriptions of the archival, manuscript, and museum collections in repositories across the state available to the public. The site consists "finding aids" that archives, libraries, and museums create to assist users in locating information in their collections.
In most cases, the collections themselves are NOT available online. - Texas Digital ArchiveAll records visible in this portal are unrestricted and available for public use.
Primary Sources from the Northwest
(Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington)
For Northwestern Newspapers see Historical Newspapers tab above.
- African Americans in the Columbia River BasinWashington State University
- The Northwest Digital Archives (NWDA)Provides access to archival and manuscript collections in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Alaska, and Washington through a union database of Encoded Archival Description (EAD) finding aids.
- Pacific Northwest Labor and Civil Rights ProjectsIncludes 12 projects that bring together nearly one hundred video oral history interviews and several thousand photographs, documents, and digitized newspaper articles.