Library: Seattle/Washington State: Primary Sources

What is a primary source?

Primary sources are artifacts or documents created during the period of time under study.They provide an original source of information about your topic. Primary sources can include photographs, art, newspapers, diaries, interviews, letters, novels, speeches, government documents, and music.

Image source: Smith Tower (Gaggin and Gaggin, 1914), under construction, Seattle, ca. 1913 Postcard in public domain.

Online Primary Sources

Alaska's Digital Archives
laska's Digital Archives presents a wealth of historical photographs, albums, oral histories, moving images, maps, documents, physical objects, and other materials from libraries, museums and archives throughout our state.
American Indians of the Pacific Northwest
Extensive digital collection of original photographs and documents about the Northwest Coast and Plateau Indian cultures, complemented by scholarly essays.
Bellingham Racial History Timeline
BIA Records: Idaho
National Archives records for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Idaho
Chronicling America
Search Washington State historic newspaper pages from 1836-1922.
Columbia River Basin Ethnic History Archive
Brings together selected highlights of the ethnic collections from leading repositories in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
History: Pacific Northwest: Primary Sources [UW]
Rich collection of resources on Pacific Northwest history.
Holocaust Center for Humanity's Survivor Encyclopedia: Washington State
Explore video clips, photos, and artifacts documenting the experiences of Holocaust survivors who settled in the Pacific Northwest.
IMLS DCC
Use this site to access cultural heritage collections and exhibits from libraries, museums, and archives from across the country. Find photographs, maps, and book for Washington State using an interactive map.
Oregon Multicultural Archives: Digital & Related Resources
Pacific Northwest. Labor and Civil Rights Project
thirteen projects bring together nearly one hundred video oral history interviews and Several thousand photographs, documents, and digitized newspaper articles. Included are films, slide shows, and lesson plans for teachers.
Seattle Municipal Archives
Provides records documenting the history, development, and activities of the agencies and elected officials of Seattle.
Segregated Seattle
Part of the Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project, this resource documents the history of racial segregation in Seattle. This resource includes maps, racial restrictive covenants, and more.
SPL Special Collections Online
Features digitized materials selected from the Library's special collections, including historical photographs, documents, city directories, and much more.
WA History: Historic Newspapers
"Document the daily life of communities in a way that no history book can reproduce".
Washington State Archives--Digital Archives
Electronic records from both State and Local agencies that have permanent legal, fiscal or historical value, including records for marriages, land transactions, births, deaths, the census, etc.
Washington State Library: Digital Collections and Resources
Includes maps, photos, "classic" books on Washington State history, newspapers and more.
Washington Women's History Consortium
The Women's History Consortium provides resources about Washington women’s history.
Western Waters Digital Library
Provides free public access to a wide range of significant resources on water in the Western United States.

Additional Northwest Archives

Archives house collections of primary documents used for historical research.

Tips for finding relevant archives:

Check the lists of archives below.
Think about your topic's geographical connections and think about where archive collections might be located nearby. Remember that most universities, city libraries, museums, and government agencies contain archives of some kind.
Try Google. Conduct keyword searches for your topic. For example, you could search for archives AND Alaska Yukon exposition to find archives for this event.

Alaska Digital Archive

HistoryLink.org This link opens in a new window
Full-text. Frequently updated encyclopedia of local and Washington state history.

Lewis and Clark Journals
List of Archives in the U.S.
Museum of History and Industry Photo Archive Search
National Archives in Seattle, Washington
National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections: list of collections
Use this list to find archives.
Oregon Explorer: Natural Resources Digital Library
Pacific Northwest Database
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The Pacific Northwest Historical Documents database is a collection of original, diaries, letters, reminiscences and political documents. These documents recount the early settlement of Washington and the establishment of homesteads and towns and describe the hardships faced by many of the early pioneers.
University of Idaho Digital Collections
WorldCat (Advanced Search)
Perform a keyword search and limit to Format: Archival Material. Results may be digitized primary sources, but more likely you will get results for primary sources along with the location of the archive in which they are housed.

Indigenous Resources

Plateau Peoples' Web Portal
This digital archive, collaboratively curated and reciprocally managed, hosts the Plateau Peoples’ cultural materials that are held by several different repositories. Users can browse materials by tribe, called Tribal Paths, or by categories of materials.
Images of Native Americans
University of California, Berkeley’s Bancroft Library created "Images of Native Americans," as a digital complement to an exhibit of rare books, photographs, illustrations, and other archival and manuscript materials.
Southern Oregon University's First Nations Collection
This is a collection of historic documents, articles, and books about the Native peoples of southwestern Oregon and Northern California. The archive can be used for finding information about the tribes of this region, as well as context about relationships between the US and these nations. To see the materials, click “View the Collection” on the left side of the page.
University of Washington's American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Collection
University of Washington Libraries collection of primary sources including maps, photographs, and government documents of tribes in the Pacific Northwest. This collection is helpful for using photographs or historic documents from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs as primary resources.
The Pacific Northwest Olympic Peninsula Community Museum
This project, created collaboratively by the Northwestern Olympic Peninsula communities and the University of Washington, provides digital access to 12,000 artifacts and photographs. Users can browse by contributor or within the contexts of their online exhibits, which are grouped by the curator.
The Indigenous Digital Archive
Collaboration between Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, New Mexico State Library Tribal Libraries Program, and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. Explores the history of Indian boarding schools from the 19th and 20th centuries in the U.S.
Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties
The collection is a compilation of U.S. treaties and laws involving Native American tribes at Oklahoma State University. The collection is made up of 7 volumes covering the U.S. Government treaties with Native Americans from 1778-1883 (Volume II) and U.S. laws and executive orders from 1871-1970 (Volumes I, III-VII).
National Archives: Indians/Native Americans
The National Archives resources relating to Native Americans that include digital collections, treaties and laws, and tribal resources.