Iowa Historical Societies

This directory lists 6 historical societies, museums, and archives in Iowa. The list is short but includes the three institutions a researcher most needs: the State Historical Society of Iowa, which doubles as the state archives, the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch, and Living History Farms in Urbandale, whose exhibits document the farming practices behind the land records you will read. County historical societies exist in nearly all 99 counties; the sections below explain which records they are likely to hold and which sit elsewhere.

Iowa Territory was organized in 1838 and the state was admitted on December 28, 1846, so county records begin between the late 1830s and the 1870s depending on when each county was organized. Iowa is unusual in two ways that help genealogists: it took far more state censuses than most states (fifteen territorial and state enumerations between 1836 and 1925), and it began statewide birth, death and marriage registration on July 1, 1880, a generation earlier than many neighboring states.

Featured Historical Societies

Where the records are: Iowa's main repositories

• State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI), Library and Archives. SHSI is both the statewide historical society and the official state archives, with more than 209 million items: state government records, county records, manuscripts, maps, newspapers, photographs, and copies of birth, marriage and death records. Research is split between the State Historical Building in Des Moines and an Iowa City branch; the branch has been reorganizing, so read the "Iowa City Branch Updates" notice on the research page before you travel. Search the Iowa History Collections Catalog (iowa.minisisinc.com) first. history.iowa.gov/research
• Iowa Genealogical Society, Des Moines. A member-run library with county-level Iowa material (cemetery transcriptions, local histories, obituary files) plus selected national and international collections; check the hours and contact page before visiting. iowagenealogy.org
• University of Iowa Libraries, Special Collections and Archives, Iowa City. Manuscripts, rare books and maps, plus the Iowa Women's Archives, a dedicated collection of diaries, letters and organizational records of Iowa women. lib.uiowa.edu/sc
• Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, West Branch. Beyond Hoover's papers, its archives are a resource for Cedar County and Quaker community history around West Branch.

Vital records: births, deaths, marriages, divorces

Official registration began in Iowa on July 1, 1880. Compliance was uneven at first; FamilySearch notes the law was generally complied with by the early 1920s, so a missing 1890s birth is normal rather than a dead end.

• State copies: the Bureau of Health Statistics of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services holds births, deaths and marriages from 1880 to the present. The search fee is $20.00 per record and is not refunded if nothing is found. The bureau's page notes that records for 1921-1941 are not available at county registrar offices, so request those years from the state. hhs.iowa.gov/vital-records
• County copies: the County Recorder acts as local registrar and keeps the county's own birth, death and marriage registers, which sometimes contain entries the state never received.
• Historic copies: SHSI holds transcribed vital records sent in from the counties, and FamilySearch has free indexed collections of Iowa births (1830-1950), marriages (1809-1992) and deaths (1850-1990).
• Marriages before 1880: county marriage records go back to about 1835; the original license and return are with the Clerk of the District Court in the county that issued the license.
• Divorces: early divorce cases are in the district court of each county. Beginning in 1906 every county sent transcribed copies of divorce records to the state, and those copies are held by SHSI. Call the clerk's office before emailing, because older case files are usually in off-site storage.

Land, deed, and property records

Iowa is a public-land state: the federal government surveyed the land into townships, ranges and sections and sold or granted it through land offices that opened after the territory was created in 1838. The first transfer out of federal ownership (a cash sale, a homestead, or a military bounty-land warrant) produced a patent, which you can search by name in the BLM General Land Office Records. glorecords.blm.gov

• County deeds and mortgages: every transfer after the patent was recorded by the County Recorder at the courthouse, with grantor and grantee indexes running from the county's organization.
• Statewide online search: Iowa Land Records connects all 99 county recorders in one system and offers free search access to archived real estate documents; coverage of older books varies by county, so confirm the start date for your county before assuming a deed is missing. iowalandrecords.org
• State land grants with their own records: the Secretary of State's office produced separate index and field books for the Half-Breed Tract (lands set aside for mixed-ancestry members of the Sac and Fox), the Des Moines River lands (1847-1904), swamp land grants (1859-1921) and school land sales (1849-1917). If a deed cites one of these programs, the state series rather than the GLO holds the first transfer.

Newspapers and city directories

The Iowa Digital Newspaper Project, run by SHSI as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program since 2012, has digitized more than 400,000 pages of Iowa newspapers published between 1836 and 1922. All of them are free and keyword searchable on the Library of Congress Chronicling America site; there is no separate Iowa-only search portal for these pages. SHSI research portal

• Community archives: dozens of Iowa public libraries have digitized their local papers through Advantage Preservation; the directory at directory.advantage-preservation.com lists every participating Iowa town on a map, with Cedar Rapids and Iowa City among the largest sets.
• Microfilm: SHSI holds the state's central newspaper microfilm collection, and its website provides a free remote link to NewspaperArchive for Iowa titles.
• Transcriptions: Iowa Old Press (iowaoldpress.com) publishes volunteer transcriptions of early Iowa papers arranged by county and date, useful for titles that have never been filmed.
• City directories: SHSI and the larger public libraries (Des Moines, Davenport, Dubuque, Sioux City, Council Bluffs) hold their cities' directories; small towns were often covered only in county farm directories or plat books. See using old city directories.

Census, military, and statewide indexes

Iowa's census coverage is its strongest research asset. Territorial censuses survive for 1836 (Dubuque and Des Moines counties), 1838 (some counties) and 1844 (Keokuk County), followed by state censuses in 1846, 1847, 1849, 1851, 1852, 1854, 1856, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915 and 1925. The 1856 and later schedules name every household member, and the 1925 census asked for each person's parents, including the mother's maiden name, and where the parents were born and married, which makes it a substitute for missing birth records. All are online through FamilySearch or Ancestry; the originals are at SHSI, which the state vital records office itself refers researchers to for census work.

• Federal census: 1840 (as part of Iowa Territory) through 1950.
• Military: SHSI holds Iowa adjutant general records, Civil War and Spanish-American War rosters, and World War I service material; the Hoover Library covers the Hoover administration and related veterans' material.
• Divorce transcripts from 1906 and county vital record transcripts at SHSI function as statewide indexes for the 1880-1920s period when county compliance was spotty.

Researching a house or farm in Iowa

Iowa's State Historic Preservation Office is now housed in the Iowa Economic Development Authority (Opportunity Iowa) rather than at SHSI. It administers the National Register program in Iowa (more than 2,000 nominations covering over 15,000 buildings, structures, sites and objects, plus 29 National Historic Landmarks) and maintains the Iowa Site Inventory, whose survey forms and National Register files are searchable in the Iowa Historic Property Inventory Database. opportunityiowa.gov/community/historic-preservation and shporecords.opportunityiowa.gov

• Run the address through the inventory database first; if a site form exists it will already contain a construction date estimate and a short deed history.
• Build the ownership chain with Iowa Land Records and the County Recorder's indexes, following the steps in tracing a property deed history. For farms, county plat books (1870s-1920s) at SHSI and county societies show the owner's name on each parcel.
• Date the structure from assessor records, Sanborn fire insurance maps (available for Iowa cities through the Library of Congress and SHSI) and the 1885-1925 state censuses, which show who occupied it. Our guide to when was my house built covers the physical clues.

Working with Iowa historical societies

Nearly every Iowa county has a county historical society, often running a museum in a former courthouse, depot or schoolhouse, and most keep obituary clipping files, cemetery surveys and family folders that never reach Des Moines. Because the state archives already holds the official county vital and court records, the county society is the place to ask for the unofficial material: church anniversary books, school census lists, centennial histories, and the local newspaper index. Expect limited hours (often two or three afternoons a week, and seasonal closures in winter), and send a written query with the surname, township and decade so a volunteer can pull folders before you arrive. For a burial, start with the county society's cemetery index, then confirm with the method in finding where someone is buried.

Additional Iowa History Resources

• State Historical Society of Iowa: Research - State archives and library; catalog, newspapers, vital record copies
• Iowa HHS Bureau of Health Statistics - State birth, death and marriage records from 1880
• Iowa Land Records - Free statewide search of recorded deeds and real estate documents
• Iowa SHPO (Opportunity Iowa) - National Register, Iowa Site Inventory, preservation tax credits
• Iowa Historic Property Inventory Database - Search SHPO site inventory forms and National Register files
• Iowa Genealogical Society - Member library in Des Moines with county-level Iowa collections
• University of Iowa Special Collections and Archives - Manuscripts, maps and the Iowa Women's Archives
• BLM General Land Office Records - Federal land patents and survey plats for Iowa
• FamilySearch Wiki: Iowa Census - Links to every Iowa territorial and state census online

Frequently Asked Questions

What years did Iowa take a state census?

Territorial counts survive for 1836, 1838 and 1844, and state censuses were taken in 1846, 1847, 1849, 1851, 1852, 1854, 1856, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915 and 1925. The 1925 schedule is the most detailed, recording each person's parents and the parents' birthplaces, and all of them are online through FamilySearch or Ancestry.

When did Iowa start recording births and deaths?

Statewide registration began July 1, 1880, though many counties did not comply fully until the 1920s. The Iowa HHS Bureau of Health Statistics holds state copies from 1880 and charges a $20 search fee; the County Recorder holds the county's own registers, and the State Historical Society of Iowa holds transcribed copies for research.

Can I search Iowa deeds online?

Yes. Iowa Land Records (iowalandrecords.org) provides free search access to recorded real estate documents from all 99 counties, though how far back each county's scanned books go varies. Pre-patent federal transfers are in the BLM General Land Office Records database.

Where are old Iowa newspapers online for free?

The State Historical Society of Iowa has digitized more than 400,000 pages from 1836-1922 through the Iowa Digital Newspaper Project, all searchable free on Chronicling America at the Library of Congress. Many towns also have free local archives through Advantage Preservation, and SHSI offers remote access to NewspaperArchive.