Archives' photographs focus upon the unique cultural heritage of the state and territory of Arizona, beginning in 1863. The collection includes about 90,000 images, including photographs, slides, negatives, glass plate negatives, tintypes, transparencies, postcards and others.
The majority of photographs in the collection pre-date 1940, with emphases on the following areas: Arizona, governmental, Colorado River, New Deal and educational history; the original C.S. Fly Collection from Tombstone in the 1880's; the Arizona Highway Department beginning about 1915 with documentation of the construction of most Arizona highways; the Wheeler Expedition photographs by Timothy O Sullivan from the 1870's; Salsbury Collection of missionary life on the Navajo Reservation from 1930-40s; Thomas Henry Bate Collection (including Rough Riders) from Prescott and Phoenix c1898-1930; a complete set of Arizona railroad stations; the Fish and McClintock Collections of territorial images; the Judge William & Katherine Stilwell Collections, Phoenix period only; and the Scripp Land Survey, undertaken in 1912 documenting state-held lands.
The images presented in this collection represent a sample of the images at the Arizona State Archives. If you don't find what you are looking for please contact the State Archives at (602) 926-3720. In general, the collection does not include photographs of specific non-governmental individuals in Arizona, specific houses or housing developments.
Donations of photographs which document the history of Arizona are continuously accepted.
If you have questions about the photograph collection, donations, or if you have identified errors, please contact us at photos[at]azlibrary.gov.
