Idaho Historical Societies

This directory lists 6 historical societies, museums, and archives in Idaho, among them the Idaho State Historical Society in Boise and Nez Perce National Historical Park at Spalding. Scroll down for contact details, and use the sections below to work out whether the record you want is in Boise, at a county courthouse, or in a federal file in Seattle.

Idaho Territory was carved out in 1863; before that the panhandle sat in Washington Territory (from 1853) and the southeast was counted with Utah Territory, which is why 1856 and 1860 census entries for Idaho families turn up under Cache County, Utah, or Spokane County, Washington. Statehood came on July 3, 1890. Two early counties, Alturas (1864-1895) and Logan (1889-1895), were abolished and their records dispersed to successor counties, and Idaho never took a state census, so the State Archives built a reconstructed 1890 census from local sources to fill the gap left by the 1921 fire that destroyed the federal returns.

Featured Historical Societies

Major repositories in Idaho

The Idaho State Archives, run by the Idaho State Historical Society, is at 2205 Old Penitentiary Road in Boise, open Wednesday through Saturday 10 am to 4:30 pm (208-334-2620, public.archives@ishs.idaho.gov). Appointments 48 hours ahead are encouraged if you need original records pulled to the Lincoln Reading Room. The Archives holds county records of land, court, citizenship, tax, and vital events from 1863 onward, Idaho death certificates and index for 1911-1937 on microfilm, federal census schedules 1790-1930, and about 40,000 rolls of microfilmed Idaho newspapers from 1863 to the present. Its book collection runs from family histories and DAR lineage books to military rosters and gazetteers.

• Genealogy at the State Archives: the entry point to searchable catalogs, online indexes, a digitized newspaper link, and a guide to adoption, birth, death, divorce, and marriage information.
• Searchable catalogs for manuscripts, photographs, and the Preservica digital collections portal.
• University of Idaho Special Collections and Archives in Moscow: manuscripts and photographs documenting Idaho and the university, with finding aids on Archives West and a reading room open to the public (libspec@uidaho.edu, 208-885-0845).
• The Idaho Genealogical Society issues Pioneer and Early Settler certificates, which the State Archives points researchers to for documenting pre-statehood ancestry.

Vital records: 1911 and after

Statewide registration started in July 1911. The Idaho Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics, part of the Department of Health and Welfare, issues certified copies of births and deaths filed from July 1911 to the present and of marriage and divorce certificates filed from May 1947 onward. Death, marriage, and divorce certificates are legally confidential for 50 years. Western Idaho counties complied with the 1911 law fairly quickly; eastern and northern counties lagged into the 1920s, so a missing 1912 certificate is not unusual.

• Deaths 1911-1937: microfilmed certificates and index at the State Archives, with no 50-year wait for the older ones.
• Deaths before 1911: there is no statewide record. Use the 1870 and 1880 mortality schedules (originals at the State Archives), church registers, newspapers, and county coroner or probate files.
• Marriages: county recorders have kept marriage records since each county was organized; the FamilySearch Library microfilmed most registers before the 1950s, and the original license applications often survive at the county.
• Divorces: the decree is a court record. Contact the clerk of the district court in the county where it was granted; the state only issues a certificate for divorces from May 1947 forward.
• The FamilySearch wiki page on Idaho Vital Records lists the online indexes and their date ranges.

Land, homesteads, and county deeds

Idaho is a public-land state surveyed into townships and ranges, and the first owner of almost every parcel got it from the United States. Search the BLM General Land Office Records site by name or legal description for the patent; homestead entry files and the original tract books and plats are at the National Archives Pacific Northwest region in Seattle, and the BLM Idaho State Office in Boise holds patents and copies of the tract books. The patent date is usually five years or more after the family actually arrived, so check the tract book entry date, not just the patent.

Once land passed into private hands, every deed and mortgage was recorded at the county. In Idaho the elected County Clerk acts as the county recorder, so look for the Recorder or Property Records division of the Clerk's office (in Ada County, for example, recording is handled by the Clerk at 200 W. Front Street, Boise). County records through roughly 1900 were microfilmed and can be read at the State Archives or through FamilySearch; later deed books remain at the courthouse, and many counties now offer online indexes. Mining claims and water rights filings are also county-recorded and were used heavily in building the reconstructed 1890 census. Our article on tracing a property's deed history explains how to run a grantor-grantee search once you know the county.

Newspapers and city directories

The Idaho State Historical Society participates in the National Digital Newspaper Program, and its selected Idaho titles are freely searchable on Chronicling America (the Society links to them from its genealogy page as the Idaho Digital Newspaper Project). Everything else, about 40,000 rolls covering 1863 to the present, is on microfilm at the State Archives in Boise. Before you scroll film, search the Idaho Biographical Index, which indexes people named in county and community histories, regional periodicals, and selected newspaper articles statewide.

City directories are concentrated in Boise; the Archives used Boise directories as a source for the 1890 reconstruction, and other Idaho city directories are listed in its searchable catalogs. Our guide to using old city directories shows how to turn a directory entry into an address, occupation, and neighbor list.

Census, military, and the State Archives indexes

Idaho first appears as a territory in the 1870 federal census and in every census since. There are no state censuses. The 1890 federal schedules were lost, so the State Archives compiled a Reconstructed 1890 Idaho Census from births, marriages, deaths, wills, tax and land records, naturalizations, mining and water filings, and newspapers for 16 counties, listing people resident between 1885 and 1894. The Archives also holds the only original 1870 and 1880 agricultural, industrial, mortality, prison, and social statistics schedules for Idaho and has indexed them online.

Other free indexes on the searchable indexes page:

• Civil War veterans: more than 2,000 Union and Confederate veterans who lived or died in Idaho, with birth and death dates, state of service, and county of residence.
• World War I Adjutant General discharge cards and Victory Medal applications, a substitute for personnel files lost in the 1973 St. Louis fire.
• World War II Idaho Guard enlistment and service records, 1940-1946.
• Naturalization records from 1863 for Ada, Alturas, Bingham, Boise, Canyon, Clearwater, Elmore, Idaho, Nez Perce, Oneida, Teton, and Twin Falls counties and the Idaho Supreme Court.
• Penitentiary inmate catalog, 1864-1947, with files that often include a photograph.
• Mothers' pension (a 1913 program, most files from the 1920s) and old age pension applications, 1931-1936, from selected counties.

Researching a house or building in Idaho

The Idaho State Historic Preservation Office is at 210 Main Street, Boise (208-334-3861, info@shpo.idaho.gov), open weekdays 8 to 5; as of July 2026 it is administratively part of the Office of Species, Minerals, and Energy Coordination, but its website and services continue. Two tools matter for property research: the National Register of Historic Places page, which explains Idaho listings and nominations, and ICRIS, the Idaho Cultural Resource Information System, which holds survey and inventory data on recorded historic properties.

• Highway historical markers are run by the Idaho Transportation Department with the State Historical Society; several hundred markers are mapped on ITD's online Marker Hub, and a 2000 guide with the full text of each marker is downloadable from the markers page.
• To date a building, combine the deed chain from the county recorder with the BLM patent, tax records at the county, and newspaper mentions. The steps in when was my house built and researching an old building apply directly.
• Ask the State Archives and the University of Idaho Library whether a Sanborn fire insurance map exists for your town and year; coverage is limited to the larger communities.

Working with Idaho's local societies

Idaho has 44 counties and most of them have a county historical society, a county museum, or both, usually volunteer-run with summer hours. The State Historical Society's Century Farm and Ranch program and its Esto Perpetua awards are good leads for finding active local groups. Because so many county records before 1900 were microfilmed, a Boise visit to the State Archives can substitute for several courthouse trips; send a research request through the Archives website first, since staff will check indexes for a fee and tell you what exists before you drive.

Additional Idaho History Resources

• Idaho State Archives - State and county records, 1911-1937 death certificates, and 40,000 rolls of Idaho newspapers in Boise
• Idaho State Archives Searchable Indexes - Free indexes: reconstructed 1890 census, Civil War veterans, WWI and WWII records, naturalizations, inmates, pensions
• Idaho Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics - Official office for Idaho birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates
• Idaho State Historic Preservation Office - National Register, ICRIS database, Section 106 review, and tax credits
• Idaho National Register of Historic Places - How Idaho properties are listed and what listing means for owners
• Idaho Highway Historical Markers - Marker guide download and link to ITD's interactive marker map
• BLM General Land Office Records - Federal land patents and survey plats for Idaho homesteads
• University of Idaho Special Collections and Archives - Idaho manuscripts and photographs in Moscow, finding aids on Archives West
• FamilySearch Wiki: Idaho Vital Records - Date ranges and locations of online Idaho birth, marriage, and death indexes

Frequently Asked Questions

When did Idaho start keeping birth and death records?

Statewide registration began in July 1911. The Idaho Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics issues certificates from that date, and the Idaho State Archives in Boise has the 1911-1937 death certificates and index on microfilm. Before 1911 there is no statewide record; use mortality schedules, church, newspaper, and county records.

Is there an Idaho state census?

No. Idaho was never enumerated by a state census, only by the federal census from 1870 and, for the southeast, the 1856 and 1860 Utah Territory counts. The Idaho State Archives built a Reconstructed 1890 Census index from local records for 16 counties to replace the destroyed 1890 federal schedules.

Where are Idaho homestead records?

Search the patent on the BLM General Land Office Records site, then request the homestead entry file from the National Archives Pacific Northwest region in Seattle using the land description. The BLM Idaho State Office in Boise holds patents and tract book copies. Later deeds are at the county recorder, which in Idaho is the County Clerk's office.

How do I find out whether an Idaho building is on the National Register?

Check with the Idaho State Historic Preservation Office at 210 Main Street in Boise, which administers the National Register program and maintains ICRIS, the state cultural resource database. Highway historical markers are a separate program run by the Idaho Transportation Department, with an online map of every marker.