Our Collections
The Idaho State Archives provides public access and archival management for the State of Idaho’s 123,000 cubic feet of public records, as well as photographs,manuscripts, maps, books, periodicals, state documents, and oral history interviews. Services include cataloging, digitization, preservation, inter-library Loan services, and environmentally-controlled storage.
State Archives Comprehensive Collection of Idaho and Regional History Materials Includes:
- 123,000 cubic feet of manuscript (non-governmental records) and state archives material, such as the personal papers of Senator William E. Borah; records of the Territorial government;gubernatorial papers from George Shoup through James E. Risch; records of the Idaho Soldiers’ Home; and Carey Act materials dealing with water rights and irrigation.
- 40,000 rolls of microfilm, including Idaho newspapers dating from 1863 to present, County-level records (land and property, citizenship, court, vital and tax) dating from 1863, Sanborn fire insurance maps for many Idaho cities, Idaho death certificates (1911-1937),nbsp; federal census schedules (1790-1930), and a variety of materials related to Idaho history and purchased from the National Archives.
- Idaho Yearbooks from 1909-2006.
- 1,000,000 photographic images (prints, negatives, slides, and transparencies), including images taken by E. Jane Gay during the allotment of lands for the Nez Perce Indians; the life work of Boise photographer R. Harold Sigler; images from the Sherwood family, pioneer settlers of the Henry’s Lake area of Idaho; and inmate ‘mug shots’ from the Idaho Territorial/State Prison. Photographs are also available for purchase.
- 5,000 motion picture films and videos, including a 16mm copy of a 1916 film celebrating the 10th anniversary of the town of Buhl in south central Idaho, footage of a
1935 National Geographic Society expedition on the Salmon River, and promotional films produced by the Idaho Department of Commerce (1960s-1990s).
- An extensive oral history collection with some 3,100 individual interviews (audio and video formats), with projects documenting such topics as African-Americans in Southeast Idaho, Czechoslovakian Culture in the Buhl-Castleford area, Women and Political Activism in Idaho 1945-1980, Bureau of Land Management in Idaho, the Basque and Hispanic communities in Idaho, and Veterans History Project.
- 32,000 maps, including a series of hand-drawn and hand-colored maps prepared by Idaho’s first Surveyor General, Lafayette Cartee, State highway maps, fire insurance maps for a variety of towns and businesses, blueprints, and architectural plans from the state’s premier architectural firms including Tourtellotte and Hummel, Sundberg and Sundberg, and Edgar Jensen.
- An open-stack reference collection of book and periodical titles for the study of regional, state, community, and family history.
- A comprehensive list of Idaho territorial and state penitentiary inmates including men, women, and children between the years 1864 and 1947.
Do you have something you want to donate to the Idaho State Archives? Idaho State Archives accepts donations of historic documents that help in meeting our mission of preserving and promoting Idaho’s cultural heritage. ISA relies on the generosity of donors to enhance and expand the collections.
In addition to the online resources, visit us Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 am until 4 pm at 2205 Old Penitentiary Road, Boise, Idaho 83712 or e-mail.