Arizona Historical Society

Non-profit organization

Arizona Historical Society

AHS Logo (alchemist's symbol for copper)

Founded| November 7, 1884;
140 years ago (1884-11-07)
Founder| Arizona territorial legislature
Type| non-profit
Purpose| Connecting people through the power of Arizona's history
Website| arizonahistoricalsociety.org

The Arizona Historical Society (AHS) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to connect people through the power of Arizona's history. It does this through four regional divisions. Each division has a representative museum. The statewide divisions are as follows: Southern Arizona Division in Tucson, the Central Arizona Division in Tempe, and the Northern Arizona Division in Flagstaff.[1] It was founded in 1884.[2]

## History of the Historical Society

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The group was founded as the Society of Arizona Pioneers on January 31, 1884, by physician John C. Handy, his father-in-law William Fisher Scott, and 58 other Tucson pioneers.[3]

With a new railroad being built and change on its way to Tucson, Arizona, pioneers worried that their stories of battles with the desert heat and the Apaches would be lost forever. The society was founded to preserve these stories and provide charitable service work to the local community as a mutual aid society. Original Historical Society members were often prominent members of the community, and their tasks with the society included attending funerals and raising money to help out widows.[2]

Over time, the Society evolved to provide storage for official state papers and collect the histories of many Arizona citizens. The society has faced several periods of financial difficulty, and difficulty storing their collections safely. Collections expanded beyond the capacity of facilities several times, until a large, block-long basement was created to store records and documents at the current Main Museum.[2]

As of 2015[update], the Society maintained several museums in the state with the financial support of over 3000 members and dozens of volunteers.[2]

## Museums

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### Flagstaff

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* Arizona Historical Society Pioneer Museum – located in the historic Coconino County Hospital for the Indigent. Exhibits include local history, ranching, logging, transportation and pioneer life.

### Tempe

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* Arizona Historical Society Museum at Papago Park – Exhibits focus on the state's history in the 20th and 21st centuries, including World War II, the rise of desert cities, Arizona pop culture, sports, and the state's geology.

### Tucson

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* Arizona History Museum – The largest AHS museum in the state, the Arizona History Museum frequently rotates its exhibits on Arizona history. Permanent displays include southern Arizona history from Spanish colonial through territorial eras, mining and transportation.

## Library and archives

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The Arizona Historical Society currently houses a large collection of published and unpublished historical documents in its library and archives division. The collections are divided among 4 locations in Arizona, with each location specializing in certain aspects of history. The society lists its collection specialties as follows:

"Tucson Collections Strengths: Territorial era, Southern Arizona and borderlands, business, genealogy, ranching, politics, mining, military, law, non-profit and grass roots organizations, ephemera, photographs, and maps.

Tempe Collections Strengths: 20th Century, Maricopa County and Central Arizona, oral histories, architectural drawings, TV news reels, aviation, banking, healthcare, business, non-profit organizations, arts and culture, photographs and photographic studios.

Flagstaff Collections Strengths: Territorial era to 1950s, Northern Arizona and Colorado Plateau, business, politics, law, lumber industry, railroads, genealogy, local organizations, Indian Pow Wow records, education, healthcare, maps, oral histories and photographs."[4]

AHS libraries are staffed by knowledgeable librarians who can aid in professional research or answer general research questions at the research help desk.

## Quarterly journal

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The historical society publishes the quarterly Journal of Arizona History (originally named Arizoniana).[5] The journal is distributed to members and contains articles about Arizona history. Photo essays and reviews are included along with standard articles. The Historical Society additionally publishes books, a list of which can be found on their website.[6]

## References

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1. ^ https://www.azfamily.com/video/2024/09/11/yuma-acquiring-historical-sites-preserve-citys-legacy/
2. ^ a b c d Sonnichsen, C. L. (1984). Pioneer heritage: The First Century of the Arizona Historical Society. Tucson, AZ: Arizona Historical Society. ISBN 0910037213.
3. ^ Roberts, Virginia Culin (1989). "Mary Page Handy and the lawyer who dared to defend her". The Journal of Arizona History. 30 (4) (Winter, 1989 ed.): 365–390\. JSTOR 41695779.
4. ^ "Library and Archives". Archived from the original on 2014-05-03. Retrieved 2014-06-09.
5. ^ ISSN 0021-9053; ISSN 2689-3908
6. ^ "Publications".

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

Portals:

* Arizona
* History

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Historical societies of the U.S. states

Northeast|

| New England|

* Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
* Maine Historical Society
* Massachusetts Historical Society
* New Hampshire Historical Society
* Rhode Island Historical Society
* Vermont Historical Society

|

Mid-Atlantic|

* Delaware Historical Society
* Historical Society of Washington, D.C.
* Maryland Historical Society
* New Jersey Historical Society
* New York Historical
* Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Midwest|

| East North Central|

* Illinois State Historical Society
* Indiana Historical Society
* Historical Society of Michigan
* Ohio History Connection
* Wisconsin Historical Society

|

West North Central|

* State Historical Society of Iowa
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* State Historical Society of Missouri
* Missouri Historical Society
* Nebraska State Historical Society
* State Historical Society of North Dakota
* South Dakota State Historical Society

South|

| South Atlantic|

* Florida Historical Society
* Georgia Historical Society
* North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office
* South Carolina Historical Society
* Virginia Historical Society
* West Virginia Division of Culture and History

|

East South Central|

* Alabama Historical Commission
* Kentucky Historical Society
* Mississippi Historical Society
* Tennessee Historical Commission

West South Central|

* Arkansas Historical Association
* Louisiana Historical Society
* Oklahoma Historical Society
* Texas State Historical Association

West|

| Mountain|

* Arizona Historical Society
* History Colorado
* Idaho State Historical Society
* Montana Historical Society
* Nevada Historical Society
* Historical Society of New Mexico
* Utah State Historical Society
* Wyoming State Historical Society

|

Pacific|

* Alaska Historical Society
* California Historical Society
* Hawaiian Historical Society
* Oregon Historical Society
* Washington State Historical Society

* v
* t
* e

Western U.S. historical societies

Mountain|

| Arizona|

* Arizona Historical Society (Tempe)

|

Colorado|

| Denver|

* Colorado Aviation Historical Society
* History Colorado

|

Pueblo|

* Bessemer Historical Society
* Pueblo Historical Aircraft Society

Others|

* Adventures in Preservation (Boulder)
* Society for French Historical Studies (Colorado Springs)
* St. Vrain Historical Society (Longmont)

Idaho|

Idaho State Historical Society (Moscow)

Montana|

| Helena|

* Montana Historical Society
* Society of Montana Pioneers

|

Nevada|

* Las Vegas Historical Society (Las Vegas)

New Mexico|

* New Mexico Historic Preservation Division (Santa Fe)

Utah|

| Salt Lake City|

* Church History Library
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|

Others|

* Mormon History Association (Heber City)
* Utah Aviation Hall of Fame (Roy)

Wyoming|

* Wyoming Division of State Parks and Historic Sites (Cheyenne)

Pacific|

| California|

| Pan-Californian|

* California Historical Society
* California Register of Historical Resources
* Native Sons of the Golden West
* Society of California Pioneers
* E Clampus Vitus

|

Bay Area|

* Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association
* Berkeley Historical Society
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* San Francisco Museum and Historical Society
* Silicon Valley Historical Association
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* Western Society for French History

Central Coast|

* Carpinteria Historical Society
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* Pajaro Valley Historical Association
* San Buenaventura Conservancy

Central Valley|

* Fort Tejon Historical Association
* San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum

Greater
Los Angeles|

* Association of Moving Image Archivists
* Centinela Valley Historical Society
* Chinese Historical Society of Southern California
* Getty Conservation Institute
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* H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society
* Los Angeles Conservancy
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* Society for the Preservation of Downtown Los Angeles
* West Adams Heritage Association
* Westminster Historical Society
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South Coast|

* American Aviation Historical Society
* Association of Ancient Historians
* La Jolla Historical Society
* Orange County Historical Society
* San Diego History Center
* Save Our Heritage Organisation
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* The Conference on Faith and History

Others|

* Humboldt County Historical Society (Eureka)
* Modoc County Historical Society (Alturas)
* Nevada County Historical Society (Nevada City)
* Perris Valley Historical and Museum Association (Perris)

Hawaii|

* Hawaiian Historical Society (Honolulu)

Oregon|

* Association for Recorded Sound Collections (Eugene)
* Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society
* Oregon Historical Society (Portland)
* Restore Oregon (Eugene)

Washington|

| Olympia|

* Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation
* Washington Women's History Consortium

|

Seattle|

* Historic Seattle
* Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society

Tacoma|

* American Society for Environmental History
* Washington State Historical Society

Others|

* Disability History Association (Mountlake Terrace)
* Eastside Heritage Center (Bellevue)
* Mercer Island Historical Society (Mercer Island)
* United States Lighthouse Society (Hansville)
* Whitman County Historical Society (Whitman County)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States
* Israel

Other|

* SNAC
* Yale LUX

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