Free Arkansas Digital Archives for Genealogy
 are featured in Sassy Jane Genealogy‘s States on Sunday series,
providing links to free digital resources for each of the fifty states.

Arkansas History Commission

As the official archives of the state, the commission collects and preserves the source materials of the history of Arkansas. Access to digital materials is provided through:

1. Catalog of Arkansas Resources and Arkansas Treasures

CARAT provides access to the following databases:

[Soldiers’] Home Records Search

  • World War I Discharge Records Search
  • Newspapers
  • Photographs
  • Publications

    • 2. Arkansas Digital Ark-ives

    This is the online digital archive of the Arkansas History Commission, Arkansas’s official state archives, offering digitized documents, visuals, maps, broadsides, pamphlets, and three-dimensional objects significant to Arkansas history and culture, from the holdings of the Arkansas History Commission. Collections include:

    3. Black History Commission of Arkansas

    “The mission of the Black History Commission of Arkansas is to collect materials pertaining to African American history for the Arkansas History Commission; to encourage research in the state’s African American history; and to cooperate with the Arkansas Department of Education to develop materials that support the teaching of African American history in our public schools.”

    4. Arkansas Records Catalog

    Free Arkansas Digital Archives

    Courtesy Arkansas Records Catalog

    “The Arkansas Records Catalog provides quick and easy access to detailed descriptions of primary source materials maintained by archives, special collections, libraries, historical societies, and museums across the state, bringing together collection guides from many of Arkansas’s repositories to help you to locate historical documents and learn where you can gain access to the physical records you seek.”

    “Access to these collection guides, also known as finding aids, is essential in determining whether a repository holds the historical and genealogical documents you’re searching for. The Arkansas Records Catalog makes it easy to locate specific collections of historic documents by also providing location and contact information for the institution that maintains the records. The finding aids on this site include detailed descriptions of collections, their historical context, inventories, and other related facts, connecting researchers across the state to the historical materials you need, without ever having to leave home.”

    Repositories include:

    To locate repositories, visit this map and click on the pins provided.

    The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies/
    Arkansas Studies Institute

    A partnership between the Central Arkansas Library System and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock providing access to millions of documents and photographs on Arkansas history. Some of these materials are accessible through the Online Collections.

    The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture

    Initiated by The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System. Educators, historians, librarians, and others review content and media for inclusion.

    Arkansas Gravestones Project

    The Arkansas Gravestones Project is a privately sponsored, nonprofit, site, depending on volunteers who contribute photographs to be shared on the site. Search by surname or browse by surname or cemetery.

    Arkansas Genealogical Society

    Founded in 1962, the Arkansas Genealogical Society offers the following:

    1. The Arkansas Family Historian

    2. Ancestry Charts and Family Group Sheets

    “AGS published a series of 23 volumes of member-submitted ancestry charts and 16 volumes of family group sheets between 1975 and 1983. There are searchable indexes in pdf format.”

    3. Arkansas Ancestry Certificate Index

    “Since 1991 AGS has been awarding Arkansas Ancestry Certificates to those who prove their ancestry to early residents of Arkansas. This is a searchable index of the ancestor and the person to whom the certificate was awarded along with information needed to find information about the lineage at the Arkansas History Commission and in The Arkansas Family Historian.”

    Arkansas Digital Map Library

    State, county, and city vintage maps from USGenWeb Arkansas.

    Other Arkansas Resources

    That’s it for free Arkansas digital archives from Sassy Jane. Tune in 14 February for free California Digital Archives for Genealogy. Check out the other states in this series here.