Arkansas Archives and Libraries

United States Arkansas  Archives and Libraries

Many archives and libraries have resources such as maps, gazetteers, and other place-finding aids to help you locate information about Arkansas. They may have collections of previous research, such as family and local histories and biographies. Many have record-finding aids such as guides to their own collections or inventories of records housed elsewhere in the state.

The following archives, libraries, and societies have collections or services that are helpful for genealogical research:

Archives
Arkansas History Commission (State Archives) One Capitol Mall Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 Phone: (501) 682-6900

Online collections include 1911 Confederate Veterans Questionnaires, Confederate Pension Records, Land Records, and World War I Discharge Records among others.

National Archives Southwest Region (Ft. Worth) 501 West Felix Street, Building 1 Fort Worth, Texas 76115-3405 Phone: (817) 831-5620 Fax: (817) 551-2034 The National Archives—Southwest Region (Ft. Worth) has records created by federal agencies and courts in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. The archives has microfilms of all available federal census records, many naturalization records, passenger arrival lists, military records, and other historical resources. Learn more.

Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives 201 Highway 195 S PO Box 134 Washington, Arkansas 71862 Phone: (870) 983-2633 Fax: (870) 983-2636

Libraries
The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies Arkansas Studies Institute 401 President Clinton Ave. Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 Phone: (501) 320-5700 The Arkansas Studies Institute is a joint project of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

University of Arkansas Special Collections Mullins Library 365 N. MIlroy Ave. Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701 Phone: (479) 575-5577 The library houses the university archives and a manuscript collection and offers research assistance. Family History Library 35 North West Temple Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 Telephone: 801-240-2584

The Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints houses a collection of genealogical records that include names of more than three billion deceased people. It’s the largest collection of its kind in the world. Collections include digitized historical records, microfilms and microfiche, books, maps, and much more. Explore at FamilySearch.org.

Family History Centers (FHCs) are branches of the Family History Library and are located all over the world. Their goal is to provide resources to assist you in the research and study of your genealogy. You may search your address for a center near you on the FamilySearch site. These local centers are staffed by volunteers and have varying hours and resources so call to verify their hours in advance.


 * Little Rock Arkansas Family History Center 13901 Quail Run Drive Little Rock, Arkansas Telephone: 501-455-4998

Societies
Arkansas Genealogical Society P.O. Box 26374 Little Rock, Arkansas 72221

Reference Guides

 * Baker, Russell Pierce. Guide to Microfilmed County Records at the Arkansas History Commission. Alexander, Arkansas : Professional Genealogists of Arkansas, 1989.

To learn more about the history and record-keeping systems of Arkansas counties, use the inventories of the county archives published by the Historical Records Survey around 1940. Copies of many of these inventories can be found in the Family History Library catalog with a place-name search using the name of the county and selecting the topic, "Archives and Archives and Libraries - Inventories, registers, catalogs."

Web Sites
You can find computerized research tips and information about ancestors from Arkansas in a variety of sources at local, state, national, and international levels. The list of sources is growing rapidly. Most of the information is available at no cost. The following sites are important gateways linking you to many more sites:

Arkansas History Commission - This site has a large number of both primary and secondary resources available for genealogical and historical research, and its collections are always growing. There are many indexes for County Records, Military Records, Land Records, Newspapers, and Death records found here.

FamilySearch - At this site you can access digitized historical records, the Family History Library Catalog, lists of Family History Centers, and other resources related to family history.

ARGenWeb - a cooperative effort by many volunteers to list genealogical databases, libraries, bulletin boards, and other resources available on the Internet for each county and state.

CyndisList (AR) - a major portal linking to a variety of family history sites