Arkansas State Archives

One of the oldest existing state agencies in Arkansas, the Arkansas State Archives was created as the Arkansas History Commission (AHC) by the Arkansas General Assembly in 1905 to serve as the official archives of the state. Since then, the Arkansas State Archives has been responsible for collecting and preserving the official records and historical materials for the State of Arkansas.

In 2016, the Arkansas History Commission's name was officially changed to the Arkansas State Archives, and the agency was transferred to Arkansas Heritage, a division of the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. Today, the Arkansas State Archives continues its tradition of organizing and maintaining the history of Arkansas by collecting and preserving state, county and federal records, manuscript materials, newspapers, military records, family histories, an extensive Arkansas history and genealogy library and a collection of Arkansas art and artifacts.

In 2005, the state archives acquired the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives (SARA) in Washington, Hempstead County, Arkansas, as its first branch archives location. The state archives' second regional branch archives, the Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives (NEARA), was built in 2011 in Powhatan, Lawrence County, Arkansas.