Historical Research

Original records

NARA's Pacific Alaska Region (Seattle) has more than 30,000 cubic feet of archival holdings, among them textual documents, photographs, maps, and architectural drawings, dating from the 1850s to the 1980s. These archival holdings were created or received by the Federal courts and over 60 Federal agencies in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Federal law requires that agencies transfer permanently valuable, noncurrent records to NARA.

Among subjects of local interest are: Chinese exclusion, the homefront during World War II, the work of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Native Americans, the merchant marine service, and smuggling.

The Seattle facility has extensive microfilm holdings of value for genealogy research, among them:

• Federal population censuses for all States, 1790-1930 (including indexes for 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920);
• military service records;
• pension and bounty land warrant applications;
• some passenger arrival and naturalization records;
• records relating to the Five Civilized Tribes.

Microfilmed records

In addition to unique original records, the Seattle facility has extensive holdings of National Archives microfilm publications. These microfilm publications reproduce basic documentation for the study of history, economics, public administration, political science, law, ethnology, genealogy, and other subjects. Included are: records of U.S. diplomatic missions worldwide, material relating to the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, German records captured at the end of World War II, and territorial papers. Selected microfilm can be loaned to academic institutions.

From I-5

Exit I-5 at Highway 520 eastbound. Exit Highway 520 at the Montlake exit. Follow Montlake Boulevard north through the University of Washington. After about a mile Montlake merges into NE 45th Street and then Sand Point Way NE. Follow the signs to Children's Hospital. The facility is located a mile north of Children's Hospital on the west side of Sand Point Way.

From the East

Take Highway 520 westbound and cross the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge. Exit Highway 520 at the Montlake exit. Follow Montlake Boulevard north through the University of Washington. After about a mile Montlake merges into NE 45th Street and then Sand Point Way N E. Follow the signs to Children's Hospital. The facility is located a mile north of Children's Hospital on the west side of Sand Point Way.

By Bus

The facility can be reached on Metro bus routes 74 and 75. Bus stops are within easy walking distance.