Iowa Archives and Libraries

United States Iowa  Archives and Libraries

Archives and libraries often have maps, gazetteers, and other place-finding aids. They frequently 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 organizations have major collections or services for genealogical researchers:

National Archives at Kansas City, Missouri
400 West Pershing Road Kansas City, MO 64108 Telephone: 816-268-8000 E-mail: [mailto:kansascity.archives@nara.gov kansascity.archives@nara.gov] Website

The National Archives at Kansas City, Missouri has the records of regional federal offices for Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, including the following:


 * Federal naturalization records including A-files
 * Bureau of Indian Affairs and other American Indian records
 * Copies of federal census, military, and immigration records

State Historical Society of Iowa
The State Historical Society of Iowa, formerly known as Iowa Historical Society or Iowa State Department of History and Archives has two centers. One is in Des Moines, the other in Iowa City. The Centers have many similar collections, and they share a website and a catalog. The centers are:

State Historical Society of Iowa - Des Moines Center
Library and Archives 600 East Locust Des Moines, Iowa, 50319 Telephone: 515-281-6200 (Library) Website

State Historical Society of Iowa - Iowa City Center
Centennial Building State Historical Society of Iowa (Iowa City) 402 Iowa Avenue Iowa City, Iowa, 52240-1806 Telephone: 319-335-3916 (Library) Website

The Special Collections rooms of the facilities include manuscript records of the state, government records, photographs, newspapers, and more. They also have family histories in book and manuscript form. The State Archives of Iowa contains records of enduring value created or collected by Iowa state agencies. These materials document all facets of the state’s history. The following are some groups of state and local government records which may be of particular interest for family historians:


 * General history books for Iowa and other states; city directories; plat maps; cemetery surveys; biographies and memoirs; school yearbooks; selected government documents; and extensive genealogy resources are available in the libraries; periodicals.
 * Photo Collections - about a half million from daguerreotype to digital. A webpage has been created on the Flickr's photo-sharing site to showcase some representative portions of the holding.
 * Newspapers from hundreds of communities from all of Iowa’s 99 counties from 1836 to the present. The collection features several foreign language and special interest newspapers published in Iowa.
 * County government records: including marriage, birth and death records, naturalization papers and land deeds. Microfilm copies of many of these county records are available in the libraries’ reading rooms.
 * Manuscript, Audio-Visual and Map Collections: including collections of personal papers; records of organizations an extensive photograph collections; and maps. Census materials. Both state and federal from 1840 through 1930. Special schedules: Mortality, agricultural, industrial, and social census records for selected years.
 * Digital Collections: Maps, children's diaries, photographs, and more.

Publications of State Historical Society of Iowa


 * Annuls of Iowa
 * Iowa Historical Record 
 * Iowa Journal of History
 * Palimpsest

Iowa Genealogical Society
6000 Douglas Avenue P.O. Box 7735 Des Moines, IA 50322 Telephone: 515-276-0287 E-mail: [mailto:igs@iowagenealogy.org igs@iowagenealogy.org] Website

To learn more about the history and record-keeping systems of Iowa counties, use the 11 inventories of county archives published by the Historical Records Survey from 1938 to 1942. They are available for Carroll, Cherokee, Dallas, Dubuque, Ida, Jasper, Montgomery, Polk, Sac, Taylor, and Woodbury Counties. The Family History Library has all of these, except for Carroll and Sac counties. Historical Records Survey (Iowa)

Burlington Public Library
210 Court Street Burlington, IA 52601-1647 Phone: (319)753-1647 Fax: (319)753-5316 E-mail: Ask a Librarian Website

Davenport Public Library
321 Main Street Davenport, Iowa 52801 Phone: 563-326-7832 Fax: 563-326-7809 TDD/TTY: 563-326-7843 Special Collections 563-326-7902 E-mail: Ask a Librarian Richardson Sloane Special Collections website

The Davenport Public Library has the following databases on line, by clicking on Local databases:


 * Obituaries
 * Scott County Marriage Certificates: Index, pre 1836-c1925
 * Marriage Announcement Index
 * Gazette (Davenport Daily Gazette:
 * 1856 Census
 * 1885 Census
 * 1925 Iowa State Census
 * Civil War Enlistments
 * Mortality Schedule Index

State Library of Iowa
Ola Babcock Miller Building 1112 E. Grand Ave. Des Moines, IA 50319-0233 Phone: (515)281-4105 1-800-248-4483 Fax: (515)281-6191 Website

From their website: Genealogy Information: Iowa Library Services does not have genealogy materials.

Other Repositories and Collections

 * List of other Iowa Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical &amp; Genealogical Societies.
 * A 1978 project by the Iowa State Historical Society created inventories for 13 additional counties. The Family History Library has copies of these inventories for Allamakee, Dubuque, Franklin, Iowa, Osceola, and Ringgold Counties.
 * To find other archives and libraries with collections of Iowa records, look in the directories and information listed in the Archives and Libraries and Iowa Societies.
 * Inventories of archive and library collections can be found by using the Keyword Search feature on catalog drop down menu of the FamilySearch Catalog to find more records under:


 * IOWA - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES
 * IOWA, [COUNTY] - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES