Alaska Historical Societies

This directory lists 6 historical societies, museums, and archives in Alaska, including the Alaska State Museum in Juneau and Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Skagway. The cards below give hours and contact details; the guide that follows explains which Alaska office actually holds the record you are after, because in this state it is rarely the one you would expect.

Alaska's paper trail is short and unusually structured. The United States bought the territory from Russia in 1867, the first civil government arrived with the District of Alaska in 1884, territorial status followed in 1912, and statehood came on January 3, 1959. Alaska has never had counties: deeds are filed by recording district, and most pre-statehood vital, probate, and naturalization records were created by federal district courts rather than a local courthouse. That is why so much of the early material now sits in Juneau at the State Archives or at the National Archives facility in Seattle.

Featured Historical Societies

Where Alaska's records are kept

Start in Juneau. The Alaska State Archives and the Alaska State Library Historical Collections share one reference desk in the Research Center on the second floor of the Andrew P. Kashevaroff (APK) Building, 395 Whittier Street, open Monday through Friday 10 am to 4 pm. Appointments are strongly recommended (907-465-2270 for the Archives, 907-465-2925 for Historical Collections).

• Alaska State Archives: more than 25,000 cubic feet of district, territorial, and state government records. For family history the key series are naturalization records (1888-1972), a probate index (1883-1960), Pioneer Home resident records (1913-1980), teacher records (1917-1959), and World War I veteran files (1913-1923). Several of these indexes are posted as downloadable spreadsheets on the Archives' genealogy page.
• Alaska State Library Historical Collections: privately donated manuscripts (diaries and letters of teachers, missionaries, gold seekers, and Alaska Natives), business records of mining companies, storekeepers, and canneries, more than 130,000 photographs, and the most complete run of Alaska newspapers anywhere.
• Alaska's Digital Archives (VILDA): the shared online portal for photographs, oral histories, maps, and documents contributed by libraries, museums, and archives across the state.
• Alaska and Polar Regions Collections and Archives at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Rasmuson Library: photographs, manuscripts, rare maps, the Alaska Film Archives, and the Project Jukebox oral history program.
• Archives and Special Collections, UAA/APU Consortium Library in Anchorage: open by appointment, with every collection guide searchable online.
• Alaska Historical Society: the statewide volunteer organization, publishing a quarterly newsletter and a history journal and holding an annual conference each fall.

Birth, death, marriage, and divorce records

Territorial registration of births, deaths, and marriages began in 1913, but compliance was uneven until the 1940s and most surviving certificates date from 1930 onward. Certificates are issued by Health Analytics and Vital Records (HAVRS) in the Alaska Department of Health, with walk-in service in Anchorage and Juneau and orders by mail, fax, or VitalChek; the office does not accept email orders. Alaska is strict about privacy: a birth record stays closed for 100 years and death, marriage, and divorce records for 50 years, after which they become public.

• Records before 1930 and from the district era: ask the Alaska State Archives first. Its vital statistics index spreadsheet spans 1816 to 1998, and marriage license applications, unlike the certificates themselves, are open to the public.
• Divorces granted before 1950: the Clerk of the Superior Court for the judicial district where the decree was issued. Divorces from 1950 onward: HAVRS, subject to the same 50-year rule.
• The earliest entries, from 1816, come from Russian-era church registers rather than government files; the FamilySearch wiki page on Alaska Vital Records lists which indexes and images are online and on which sites.

Land, deeds, and recording districts

Alaska is a public-land state, so the first private title to any parcel came from the federal government. The first General Land Office opened at Sitka in 1885. Original patents, homestead entries, and township plats are searchable free at the BLM General Land Office Records site; the case files and tract books are held by BLM Alaska in Anchorage (222 W. 7th Avenue) and by the National Archives at Seattle. Native allotment files are federal records too, so start at BLM for those.

Every transaction after patent is recorded by the State Recorder's Office in the Department of Natural Resources, not by a county or borough. The statewide recording system is divided into 34 recording districts served by two physical offices, Anchorage and Fairbanks. The free online search covers names, dates, document numbers, plats, surveys, and a Historic Book Search of scanned record books, so you can often trace a chain of title from home. Mining claim descriptions and maps from the territorial period are at the State Archives.

• Identify the recording district before you search; the Recorder's site has a district map and a "finding your recording district" tool.
• Document images on the site are TIFF files; the office posts instructions for viewing them.

Newspapers and directories

The Alaska Digital Newspaper Program, run by the State Library under the National Digital Newspaper Program, has contributed more than 103,000 pages of Alaska newspapers to Chronicling America, all free to search. Digitized titles include the Alaska Daily Empire (Juneau, 1912-1922), the Douglas Island News (1898-1921), the Daily Alaskan and its predecessors (Skagway, 1898-1922), the Nome Nugget (1901-1922), the Alaska Citizen (Fairbanks, 1910-1920), the Seward Gateway (1904-1922), the Valdez prospector papers (1902-1918), the Cordova Daily Times (1914-1922), the Iditarod Pioneer (1910-1919), and The Thlinget (Sitka, 1908-1912).

Titles that have not been digitized are on microfilm in the Historical Collections, which also maintains a list of Alaska newspapers on microfilm and a guide to finding a gold rush relative. For city and business directories, search the Historical Collections catalog and the UAF and UAA archives catalogs before you travel; holdings vary a great deal by town.

Census, military, and statewide indexes

Federal census coverage of Alaska is thin before 1900. The 1870 enumeration was partial, the 1880 and 1890 returns are incomplete (the 1890 schedules survive only for part of Sitka), and 1900 is the first census that counted the whole territory. A 1907 territorial census is indexed on Ancestry, and the Alaska Village Census Rolls (1919-1972) are on FamilySearch. The State Library holds microfilm of the Alaska federal schedules.

• Naturalization: the State Archives index covers 1888-1972; Alaska court records held by the National Archives at Seattle have been partly digitized, and the Archives links to them.
• Military: World War I veteran records (1913-1923) at the State Archives, posted as a spreadsheet.
• Probate: the State Archives probate index (1883-1960) points you to district court estate files.
• Pioneer Home residents (1913-1980): admission records for the territorial homes, also at the State Archives.
• Burials: the State Library's genealogy guide and the Alaska Tombstone Transcription Project are the starting points; see also our article on finding where someone is buried.

Researching a house or building in Alaska

Alaska's State Historic Preservation Office is the Office of History and Archaeology (OHA) in the Department of Natural Resources, Atwood Building, 550 West 7th Avenue, Suite 1310, Anchorage (907-269-8721). Its website covers National Register nominations, which are reviewed by the Alaska Historical Commission before going to the Keeper, and the Alaska Heritage Resources Survey (AHRS), a restricted-access database of more than 45,000 reported archaeological sites, buildings, and structures. OHA also publishes an Alaska Building Survey Manual and an architectural style guide that help with dating a structure.

• Chain of title: use the Recorder's Office online search and Historic Book Search for the recording district, then the BLM GLO site for the original patent. Our guide to tracing a property's deed history walks through the grantor-grantee method.
• Construction date: in most Alaska towns the best evidence is newspaper coverage on Chronicling America, dated photographs on Alaska's Digital Archives, and plats on the Recorder's site. See when was my house built for the general approach.
• Commercial buildings: pair the methods in researching an old building with the business records held by the Historical Collections.

Visiting historical societies and museums in Alaska

With no county governments, Alaska's local history is held by city museums, borough and regional societies, Alaska Native corporations and cultural centers, and a handful of national parks. Many operate seasonally and some are reachable only by air or ferry, so email before you go. The Alaska Historical Society's conference each fall is where the staff of these small institutions gather, and its website is the best place to learn which organization covers a particular region. For Juneau research, book a table at the APK Research Center in advance; the Archives and Historical Collections staff can pull material before you arrive.

Additional Alaska History Resources

• Alaska State Archives - District, territorial, and state government records in Juneau; naturalization, probate, and vital statistics indexes
• Alaska State Library Historical Collections - Manuscripts, 130,000+ photographs, and the most complete Alaska newspaper collection
• Health Analytics and Vital Records (HAVRS) - Official office for Alaska birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates
• Alaska Recorder's Office - Statewide recording system for 34 recording districts with free online document search
• Office of History and Archaeology (Alaska SHPO) - National Register program and the Alaska Heritage Resources Survey
• BLM General Land Office Records - Federal land patents, homesteads, and survey plats for Alaska
• Alaska's Digital Archives (VILDA) - Statewide portal of digitized photographs, oral histories, maps, and documents
• Alaska Digital Newspaper Program - List of Alaska titles digitized for Chronicling America
• Alaska Historical Society - Statewide membership organization with journal, newsletter, and annual conference
• UAF Alaska and Polar Regions Collections and Archives - Photographs, manuscripts, film, and oral histories at the Rasmuson Library, Fairbanks

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get an Alaska birth or death certificate from before statehood?

Order from Health Analytics and Vital Records (HAVRS) in the Alaska Department of Health, which holds territorial certificates from 1913 onward, though few survive before 1930. Births are restricted for 100 years and deaths for 50 years. For earlier or missing events, check the Alaska State Archives vital statistics index (1816-1998) and the probate and naturalization files from the federal district courts.

Alaska has no counties, so where are deeds recorded?

By recording district. The State Recorder's Office in the Department of Natural Resources runs 34 recording districts from two offices, Anchorage and Fairbanks, and its free online search includes scanned historic record books. Original federal patents and homestead entries are at the BLM General Land Office Records site and BLM Alaska.

Where are Alaska naturalization records?

The Alaska State Archives in Juneau holds naturalization records from 1888 to 1972 and posts an index spreadsheet on its genealogy page. Federal court records for Alaska are held by the National Archives at Seattle, which has digitized part of its Alaska holdings.

Which old Alaska newspapers can I read online for free?

More than 103,000 pages contributed by the Alaska Digital Newspaper Program are on Chronicling America, including the Alaska Daily Empire, Douglas Island News, Daily Alaskan (Skagway), Nome Nugget, Alaska Citizen (Fairbanks), Seward Gateway, Valdez Prospector, Cordova Daily Times, and Iditarod Pioneer, mostly 1898-1922. Other titles are on microfilm at the Alaska State Library in Juneau.