Our Collections
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission provides resources for the public from our various collections.
For more information about these collections please send questions and comments to Reference Desk or call 512-463-5455.
Archival / Historical Collections | Digital Archive and Exhibits | Genealogical Collections | Library Collections | Local Records | Maps | Newspapers | Oral Histories | Photos
Archival / Historical Collections
1874 Buffalo Hunt Photograph Collection 
1919 Texas Rangers Investigation (Canales Investigation) Two weeks of testimony to the joint House-Senate investigative committee are available.
- Volume 1 (638 pages) (PDF - 112 MB)
- Volume 2 (460 pages) (PDF - 86 MB)
- Volume 3 (400 pages) (PDF - 94 MB)
Ancestry.com Texas: Free access to TSLAC Memorials and Petitions (1834-1929), Voter Registration Lists (1867-1869), Confederate Pensions (1884-1958) and more is made available to Texas residents.
Andrew Jackson Houston Collection database: Searchable index to approximately 4,800 items containing correspondence, reports, resolutions, proclamations, and depositions dated, primarily, between 1835 and 1859.
Annual Reports of Railroad Companies
Broadsides and printed ephemera collection contains printed documents used to distribute information to the public.
Civilian Conservation Corps Drawings: Searchable database to over 3,900 large-format drawings documenting park development and construction activities by the Civilian Conservation Corps in Texas from 1933-1958.
Confederate and Texas State Troops Military Rolls
Confederate Indigent Families Lists - 1863 "Act to Support the Families and Dependents of Texas Soldiers."
Confederate Pension Applications Index 1884-1958 - indexes files available online for Texas residents in Ancestry.com Texas. Read the Confederate Pension Applications Intro page for information.
Convict Record Ledgers and Indexes - Microfilm
Election Registers (1836-1980)
Executive Record Books, 1835-1917 - records created by the Department of Secretary of State.
Manuscript and Photograph Collections (processed): alphabetical order indexes of links to the finding aids of the prepared archival holdings on the searchable Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO) website.
Nacogdoches Archives - Nacogdoches, Texas, Spanish and Mexican Government Records, 1729-1836, on Ancestry.com
Texas Adjutant General Service Records, 1836-1935: Official service record files from the Adjutant General's Office and alphabetical files created by other agencies.
Texas Senate Recordings, 1972-2006 Digitized tapes, 4th Called Session of the 62nd Legislature(1972) through the 65th Legislative are available to be heard online.
Republic Claims 1835 -1846: Searchable index of Comptroller's records submitted by citizens to the Republic of Texas government.
Republic of Texas Passports . The collection of 55 documents has been digitized and a complete listing of names is available.
Texas Conventions and Constitutions . The collections on this page represent the results of special conventions held to decide major issues of state.
Texas Supreme Court Case Files
Voters' Registration of 1867-1869 - free access for Texans on Ancestry.com
Digital Archive & Exhibits - View historical documents, photographs and artifacts
Texas Digital Archive Portal - Access to the electronic records collections including those transferred by State agencies or digitized by the State Archives.
Lobby Exhibits - Current and past:
- Extra! Extra! Eyes of the World on Texas
- Texas Governors and Their Times,
1846-1946 - A Home for Texas History
- Cabinet of Curiosities
- Setting the Texas Table
- Archives À la Carte - Staff Picks
- Texans Take to the Trenches: The Lone Star State and the Great War
- Setting Up Camp, The Early History of Texas State Parks
- Wish You Were Here! - Historic Postcards from Texas
- Evolution of the Texas Rangers, 1836–1920
- Texans' Struggle for Freedom and Equality
- Texas in Focus: Early Photographs from the State Archives
- 'Texas Moves Toward Statehood' Stories Behind the Mural
- Texas Investigates: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy and Wounding of Governor John B. Connally
- Historic Flags of Texas
- Under the Rebel Flag: Life in Civil War Texas
- Texas Treasures - treasures from our collections, from Travis' Letter from the Alamo to the ordinance of secession, from historic flags to wanted posters for Sam Bass and Clyde Barrow.
- The McArdle Notebooks
- Pioneer Texas Architects
- Texas 175: A Dozen Documents That Made A Difference
- Native American Relations in Texas
- Hard Road to Texas: Texas Annexation 1836-1845
- Triumph and Tragedy: Presidents of the Republic of Texas
- Fortune Favors the Brave: The Story of the Texas Navy
- Forever Free - Nineteenth Century African-American Legislators and Constitutional Convention Delegates of Texas.
- Votes for Women!
- From Pioneer Paths to Superhighways: The Texas Highway Department Blazes Texas Trails 1917-1968
- Fear, Force, and Leather: The Texas Prison System's First Hundred Years, 1848-1948
- To Love the Beautiful: The Story of Texas State Parks
- Hazardous Business: Industry, Regulation, and the Texas Railroad Commission
- Portraits of Texas Governors
- Texas in Transition: Railroads, Oil, and the Rise of Urban Texas
Genealogical Collections
Vital Statistics Indexes - to Texas births, deaths, marriages and divorces.
Library Collections
Search our Online Library Catalog - reference items, books, and holdings of our other collections.
Search our Card Catalog - on site use only, archives research room, Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building.
Disability Information & Referral Center has information and materials on types of disabilities and health conditions as well as related organizations, publications, products, and technology.
Talking Book Program Library - books in special media formats for all Texans unable to read standard print whether temporary or permanently--including qualifying Texans with visual, physical, or reading disabilities.
Search our Library Science Collection - materials for professional development.
About Texas - web pages with historical and current statistics and information about the State of Texas.
TexQuest Databases - available for Texas K-12 students through their school libraries. Britannica, EBSCO eBooks and Learning Express, GALE Resources, Infobase Learn 360, ProQuest SIRS Discoverer, and TeachingBooks.net.
Digital Literacy Training for Adults Toolkit - Seven modules containing lesson plans and resources: Computer Basics, Internet Basics and Cyber Safety, Introduction to Email, Introduction to Microsoft Word, Introduction to Microsoft Excel, Job Search, and Resume Writing. Available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
TexShare Databases - available in our reading room public computers and through your Texas local library. Use our Find A Library tool to search for TexShare library contact information. The TexShare Databases contain information about the following topics:
- General Information
- Do-It-Yourself Resources
- Legal Resources
- Genealogy and History
- Homework and Education
- e-Books and Literature
- Science and Technology
Local Records
State and Local Records (processed) - indexes of links to the finding aids on the searchable Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO) website.
Local Records Available at the Sam Houston Center NOTE: on-site use only in Liberty, Texas for the county records listings of Chambers, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Newton, Orange, Polk, San Jacinto, and Tyler.
The Regional Historical Resource Depository program collects, preserves, and makes available for public use historical records of local governments of Texas. There are twenty-three depositories in Texas.
Maps
Fire Insurance Maps - mid-1920s - 1970s Searchable database of fire insurance maps and/or Sanborn maps.
Maps of Texas Collection - Searchable database covering the period from the 17th-20th centuries.
Newspapers
Original Newspapers Listing (PDF 1 MB)
Newspaper.com and Newspaper Archive databases - available in our reading room public computers and through your local library.
Oral Histories
William Barret Travis' 1836 Letter from the
Alamo. Read by Texas Governor Rick Perry.
"Handicapped" suffrage document
Read by former First Lady Laura Bush.
Sam Houston letter to Andrew Jackson
Read by U.S. Senator John Cornyn.
Barbara Jordan, Ethics in State Government talk, Senate Staff Development, February 16, 1989.
Excerpts of oral histories from Raleigh Jones, James Green, and Robert Williams, members of the Civilian Conservation Corps, 2010.
End of Senator Bill Meier filibuster of SB 1275, May 4, 1977.
“Organization in Politics,” The Woman’s viewpoint magazine, Vol. 1, No. 4., January 16, 1924, pp. 7.
Photos
Photograph and Manuscript Collections (processed): alphabetical order indexes of links to the finding aids of the prepared archival holdings on the searchable Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO) website.