LibGuides: Researching a Local Business: Archives

Archives at the Library

About the collections

Archives

Huntsville’s Library was formed in 1818, when Alabama was still a part of the Mississippi Territory. It is the oldest continuing Library in the state, although it has changed location several times.

The Department of Archives was established in 1973 in order to house the rare, fragile, and unique material that has been part of the library collection since 1818.

Manuscripts

Manuscripts in the Archives offer the researcher a valuable source for study and writing of history relating to Huntsville and Madison County, Alabama. The collection includes business records, church records, diaries, records from local organizations, journals and scrapbooks. A prized part of our collection is the Clay Family papers, covering the period from 1812-1877. These include statehood papers from Gov. C.C. Clay, Civil War letters and family correspondence.

Photographs

The photograph collection numbers over 15,000 positive photographic prints from Huntsville and Madison County, the oldest dating from the 1850’s. They depict street scenes, businesses, buildings, churches, schools, cotton mills, portraits, and historic homes.

Digital Archives

Browse our extensive collection of historic photographs, manuscripts and other historical resources at http://digitalarchives.hmcpl.org/cdm/

Alabama History Resources

The following are sites that include various archival resources from the state of Alabama, including Alabama Mosaic and the Alabama Department of History and Archives as well as some of the neighboring Alabama counties:

Alabama Department of Archives and History
The Alabama Department of Archives and History's mission statement is, "We tell the story of the people of Alabama by preserving records and artifacts of
historical value and promoting a better understanding of Alabama history." They also have history resource guides for teachers and history seekers of all kinds.
Alabama Mosaic
AlabamaMosaic is a repository of digital materials on Alabama's history, culture, places, and people. Its purpose is to make unique historical treasures from Alabama's archives, libraries, museums, and other repositories electronically accessible to Alabama residents and to students, researchers, and the general public in other states and countries.
Limestone County Archives
The Limestone County Department of History and Archives was established by the Limestone County Commission in 1980. In 2004 Limestone County purchased the 1905 L&N Depot and remodeled it to house the Archives.

The Archives is the official repository for records produced by various county departments. These departments include the Probate Court, Circuit Court, Revenue Commission, County Commission, Board of Education, and Board of Registrars. It also contains personal family histories, family photographs, periodicals, and microfilmed newspapers.
Morgan County Archives
The Morgan County Commission created the Archives in 1995 to meet the growing need of Morgan County for a permanent repository for inactive government records. The Archives was designed to be the centerpiece of the County's records management program, a means by which the government could fulfill its legal obligations to preserve and make available to the public records of enduring value. To this end, all branches of County government send records to the Archives, as they are deemed no longer useful to day-to-day operations.

The Digital Public Library of America

The Digital Public Library of America brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world. It strives to contain the full breadth of human expression, from the written word, to works of art and culture, to records of America’s heritage, to the efforts and data of science. DPLA aims to expand this crucial realm of openly available materials, and make those riches more easily discovered and more widely usable and used.

http://dp.la/