Arizona Historical Society

United States Arizona  Archives and Libraries  Arizona Historical Society Library

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Contact Information
E-mail: [mailto:AHSTucson@azhs.gov AHSTucson@azhs.gov]

Address:


 * 949 E. 2nd Street
 * Tucson, AZ 85719

Telephones:


 * Central and Northern AZ Library Reference Desk 480-929-0292 ext.174
 * Southern AZ and Rio Colorado Region Library Reference Desk 520-617-1157
 * Historic Photographs 480-929-0292 ext. 131

Hours and holidays: Reading Room: Tuesday–Friday 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Closed for state holidays.

Map, parking, directions, and public transportation:


 * Map: Google map: Arizona Historical Society, 949 E 2nd St, Tucson, AZ.


 * Free parking: NE corner of 2nd St and Euclid Ave. Enter from 2nd Street. Validated at museum.


 * Directions (to Museum/Library at 949 E 2nd St.)
 * from the Northwest via I-10 E toward Tucson:  Merge onto I-10 E toward Tucson. Take EXIT 257 toward Speedway Blvd/St Marys Rd, 0.3 mi. Merge onto N Freeway Rd, 0.1 mi. Turn left onto W Speedway Blvd, 1.5 mi. Turn right onto N Euclid Ave, 0.2 mi. Take the 2nd left onto E 2nd St, 0.1 mi. AZ Historical Society at 949 E 2ND ST is on the left.
 * from the North via AZ-77 S / N Oracle Rd toward Tucson:  Turn onto AZ-77 S / N Oracle Rd toward Tucson. Turn left onto W River Rd, 1.0 mi. Turn right onto N 1st Ave, 3.1 mi. N 1st Ave becomes N Euclid Ave, 1.2 mi. Turn left onto E 2nd St, 0.1 mi. AZ Hist Soc at 949 E 2ND ST is on the left.
 * from the Southeast via I-10 W toward Tucson:  Merge onto I-10 W/Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway toward Tucson. Take the Park Ave exit, EXIT 262, 0.4 mi. Turn right onto S Park Ave, 2.1 mi. S Park Ave becomes S Euclid Ave, 1.3 mi. Turn right onto E 2nd St, 0.1 mi. AZ Hist Soc at 949 E 2ND ST is on the left.
 * from the South via I-19 N toward Tucson: Merge onto I-19 N toward Tucson.I-19 N becomes I-10 W/Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway, 2.0 mi. Take EXIT 257 toward Speedway Blvd, 0.3 mi. Merge onto N Freeway, 0.04 mi. Turn slight right toward University of Arizona, 0.03 mi. Turn slight right onto W Speedway Blvd, 1.4 mi. Turn right onto N Euclid Ave, 0.2 mi. Take the 2nd left onto E 2nd St, 0.1 mi. AZ Hist Soc at 949 E 2ND ST is on the left.
 * from the West via AZ-86 E toward Tucson:  Go east on W Tucson Ajo Hwy / AZ-86 toward Tucson. Merge onto I-19 N toward I-10/Phoenix/El Paso, 2.0 mi. I-19 N becomes I-10 W / Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway, 2.0 mi. Take EXIT 257 toward Speedway Blvd, 0.3 mi. Merge onto N Freeway, 0.04 mi. Turn slight right toward University of Arizona, 0.03 mi. Turn slight right onto W Speedway Blvd, 1.4 mi. Turn right onto N Euclid Ave, 0.2 mi. Take the 2nd left onto E 2nd St, 0.1 mi. AZ Hist Soc at 949 E 2ND ST is on the left.


 * Public transportation: Sun Tran bus routes
 * 1 Glen/Swan: stops on Euclid near 1st St (3 blks NW of AHS), or University (3 blks SW of AHS).
 * 4 Speedway: stops on Speedway near Euclid (5 blks NW of AHS)
 * 5 Pima/W Speedway: stops on Speedway near Euclid (5 blks NW of AHS)
 * 6 Euclid/N 1st Ave: stops on Euclid near 1st St (3 blks NW of AHS), or University (3 blks SW of AHS).

Internet sites and databases:


 * Arizona Historical Society visit AHS museums, education and programs, research collections, membership, publications, about, and events.
 * AHS Catalog online by title, author, subject, ISBN, series, or call number.
 * AHS Biography Collection (pdf) table of contents.
 * Manuscript Collections table of contents.

Collection Description
The Arizona Historical Society Library has a Mexican and an early Arizona collection, Colorado River topics, manuscripts 1860-present, oral histories, maps, and photos. Their excellent genealogical collection is run by one of America's most active historical societies.

History. The Arizona Historical Society (AHS) is Arizona’s oldest historical agency established by an Act of the First Territorial Legislature on 7 November 1864. The First Arizona Territorial Legislature whose members drafted the Territory’s code of laws realized they were making history and that it was important to preserve a record of their activities. One of their earliest actions was to create the means for documenting the past and recording contemporary events as they unfolded. This became the Arizona Historical Society, formed to collect and preserve “all facts relating to the history of this Territory.”

Alternate Repositories
If you cannot visit or find a source at the , a similar source may be available at one of the following.

Overlapping Collections


 * National Archives—Pacific Region (Riverside), CA. Federal court records and federal agencies in Arizona.
 * State Library, Phoenix, has a large book/periodical collection including immigration, vital records, courts, wills, county histories, and Internet sites. The  starting place for AZ family history research.
 * State Archives, Phoenix, marriages, wills and probates, civil and criminal records, brands, taxes, coroner records, voting registers, prisoners, state agencies, maps, newspapers, photos.
 * Bancroft Library, Univ. Calif. Berkeley Early settlers, migration trails, stagecoaches, miners, and histories. They probably have more Arizona historical material than any repository in Arizona.
 * Southwest Museum Braun Research Library, Los Angeles, CA. Includes the Monk Library of Arizoniana, California and Arizona history, and records of southwest American Indians.
 * Family History Library, Salt Lake City, has many Arizona cemeteries, census, church, court, histories, immigration, land, military, and naturalization records on microfilm.

Similar Collections


 * Arizona State University Library, Tempe, a good place to look for early Arizona families.
 * Northern Arizona University Cline Library, Flagstaff, includes Arizona history, Arizona photographs, archives, and oral histories.

Neighboring Collections


 * University of Arizona Special Collections, Tucson, materials on Arizona, Southwest American history, and the U.S./Mexico Borderlands, including rare books, manuscripts, and photographs.
 * Pima County Public Library, Joel D. Valdez Main Library, Tucson, the Arizona collection, and the Southern Arizona Genealogical Society collection are housed here.
 * Pima County Vital Records births 1950-present; and deaths.
 * Pima County Superior Court marriages, criminal, civil, divorces, probate and tax court cases.
 * Pima County Recorder's Office land and mortgage records.
 * U.S. District Court Tucson Division civil, criminal, appellate, and bankruptcy cases.
 * Pima County Genealogical Society, Tucson, membership, organization, research tool box, meetings and seminars.
 * Repositories in surrounding counties: Coschise, Graham, Maricopa, Pinal, Santa Cruz, and Yuma, and in Mexico:  Sonora.
 * Mesa FamilySearch Library, Mesa, 81,000 microfilms including AZ censuses, 40,000 books (many local histories), 129 public computers, and over 90 classes and workshops per month.
 * Phoenix Public Library, Burton Barr Central Library The Arizona history collection is a good place for genealogy research.
 * West Valley Genealogical Society, Youngstown, an active society with a good little library. Probably represents outside Arizona better because of retirees who contribute from all around the U.S.
 * Arizona Jewish Historical Society, Phoenix, exhibits and genealogical classes.
 * Repositories in surrounding states (or nations): California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah; in Mexico: Baja California, Sonora, and Mexico.
 * California State Archives, Sacramento, has county records of the state, such as court records, prison records, wills, deeds, as well as military records, state census records, and school records.
 * Nevada State Library and Archives, Carson City, births, marriages, deaths, censuses, military.
 * New Mexico State Records Center and Archives, Santa Fe, government records since 1621, manuscripts, Catholic church records, census, wills, family histories, letters, diaries, maps, photos.
 * Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City, newspaper, death, land, court, history, naturalization, military, directories, criminals.
 * Archivo General de la Nación, Mexico City, church, civil, census, court, history, military, migration, land.