Washington Archives and Libraries

United States Washington  Archives and Libraries

The archives and libraries listed below offer services or have major collections of genealogical and historical records relating to Washington.

Archives

 * Washington State Archives 1129 Washington Street S.E. Olympia, WA 98504 Telephone: 360-586-1492 Fax: 360-664-8814 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 40238 Olympia, WA 98504-40238 Covers state governmental records.


 * Archives Southwest Regional Branch 1129 Washington Street S.E. Olympia, WA 98504-0238 Telephone: 360-753-1684 Fax: 360-664-8814 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 40238 Olympia, WA 98504-0238 Covers Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Skamania, Thurston, and Wahkiakum Counties.


 * Archives Central Regional Branch Bledsoe &amp; Washington Archives Building 400 E. University Way Mail Stop 7547 Ellensburg, Washington 98926-7547 Telephone: 509-963-2136 Fax: 509-963-1753 Mailing Address: 400 E. University Way Mail Stop 7547 Ellensburg, Washington 98926-7547 Covers Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Franklin, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat, Okanogan, and Yakima counties.


 * Archives Eastern Regional Branch Eastern Washington Regional Archives 960 Washington Street Cheney, Washington 99004 Telephone: 509-235-7508 Fax: 509-235-7505 Covers Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, and Whitman counties.


 * Archives Northwest Regional Branch Northwest Regional Branch Archives Western Washington University, MS-9123 3000 Landerholm Circle SE, MS-N100 Bellevue, WA 98007-6484 Telephone: 360-650-3125 Fax: 360-650-3323 Covers Clallam, Island, Jefferson, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom counties.


 * Archives Puget Sound Regional Branch Puget Sound Washington Regional Archives Pritchard-Fleming Building 3000 Landerholm Circle SE, MS-N100 Bellingham, WA 98225-9123 Telephone: 425-564-3940 Fax: 425-564-3945 Covers King, Pierce, and Kitsap counties.


 * Washington State Digital Archives The nation's first archives dedicated to the preservation of electronic records from both State and Local agencies that have permanent historical value. The web site was designed to provide simple, straight forward access to researchers. Extensive collection of state, county, municipal, and quasi-governmental entity records.


 * National Archives—Pacific and Alaska Region (Seattle) 6125 Sand Point Way, N.E. Seattle, WA 98115-7999 Telephone: 206-336-5115 Fax: 206-336-5112

Libraries

 * Washington State Historical Society Library Research Center 315 North Stadium Way Tacoma, WA 98402 Telephone: 253-798-5914 Fax: 253-597-4186


 * Washington State Library P.O. Box 42460 Olympia, WA 98504-2460 Telephone: 360-753-5590 Fax: 360-586-7575 Internet:
 * Catalog: Select a topic from the Search In list. Add keywords, such as "Adams County." A great resource for Washington newspapers, digital collections, and more.


 * Seattle Public Library 1000 Fourth Avenue Seattle, WA 98104 Telephone: 206-386-4629 Fax: 206-386-4632


 * Suzzallo-Allen Library University of Washington P.O. Box 352900 Seattle, WA 98195-2900 Telephone: 206-543-9158 Fax: 206-685-8049
 * A helpful catalog for this library is:
 * University of Washington (Seattle) Library, The Dictionary Catalog of the Pacific Northwest Collection of the University of Washington (Seattle) Libraries. Six Volumes. (Boston, Massachusetts: G.K. Hall and Co., 1972.) ;


 * Washington State University Libraries Research PO Box 645610 Pullman WA 99164-5610 Telephone: 509-359-6200


 * EWU Libraries - Cheney Campus 816 F Street 100 Lib Cheney, WA 99004 Telephone: 509-335-9671 Fax: 509-359-6456


 * Spokane Public Library Downtown Branch, Ned M. Barnes Northwest Room 906 West Main Avenue Spokane, WA 99201 Telephone: 509-444-5338


 * Northwest Museum of Art and Culture 2316 West First Avenue Spokane, WA 99201 Telephone: 509-456-3931

Guides
Two important guides to Washington records are:


 * Genealogical Resources in Washington State: A Guide to Genealogical Records Held at Repositories, Government Agencies and Archives. Olympia, (Washington: Secretary of State, Division of Archives and Records Management, 1983.) ;


 * Historical Records of Washington State: Records and Papers Held at Repositories. Olympia, Washington: Washington State Historical Records Advisory Board, 1981. ; (

To learn more about the history and record-keeping systems of Washington counties use the 15 inventories of the county archives produced by the Historical Records Survey around 1940. Copies of these inventories are at the Family History Library. To access these records, use the Place Search in the FHL catalog for:


 * WASHINGTON, [COUNTY] - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES