Research in Washington State starts with the Washington State
Archives or one of its regional branch offices.
Don’t forget the Washington State Library.
Washington State Archives – Main
Branch
The state archive consists of 5 regional branch locations and
the main branch located in Olympia which also houses the Southern Regional
Branch of the archives. This archive
is not to far from the State Library and the State Capital grounds.
The Washington State Archives main office is located at
1129 Washington Street SE, Olympia, WA 98504
Mailing address:
PO Box 40238, Olympia, WA 98504-0238
Email:
research@secstate.wa.gov.
Phone:
360-586-1492
Research Strategy:
You can search the archive catalogue from the main branch website as
listed above. The catalogue will
tell you what branch the collection is located in or what county.
Or you can go to the branch that houses the county you are interested in
and search at that site. See the
information below for websites.
Washington State
Digital Archives:
In addition to the main branch is the
Washington State Digital Archives.
The digital archives have been
working hard to provide indexes and documents for online viewing.
What you will find there are many great records to explore,
the highlights are:
1. Birth Records
2. Census Records
3. Death Records
4. Land Records
5. Marriage
Records
6. Military
Records
7. Naturalization
Records
8. Plats/Survey
Records
9. Much more….
Washington State
Archive Regional Branch offices:
The following 3 branch offices of the Washington State
Archive are located west of the Cascade Mountain range and are considered part
of Western Washington.
Hours are: 8:30
am to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday (excluding state holidays) Some of the
branches might open at 8 a.m.
Research strategy:
You can email your research question to one of the following archive
branches of the Washington State Archives that you determine houses the
information you seek. First you need
to study what they have in their collection and the dates to make sure it fits
your timeframe and then prepare your email.
Keep your request brief to the point and explain what you need.
If you want them to look up a marriage, give the names, the dates and as
much information as you can. If they
find something and make copies you will have to pay first before they will send
you the information. It might take
anywhere from 1 day to 2 weeks or more for them to respond.
Be patient. If it requires
extensive research like estates/probate they prefer you hire someone to assist
you. Go to our
Members Profiles page
for someone to assist you.
King, Pierce and Kitsap Counties
1.
Puget Sound
Regional Branch located on the campus
of the Bellevue Community College at the Pritchard-Fleming Building, 3000
Landerholm Circle SE, MS-N100, Bellevue, WA 98007-6484.
Research Telephone:
425-564-3940
Research Email:
Archives@bellevuecollege.edu
This branch website gives a good detailed listing of what is
available in their collection for King, Pierce and Kitsap County.
If you still have a question then feel free to email them.
One of their special collections is the
King County
Property Records research. You
can research your house.
Instructions on how to locate house records is presented on the website.
If you plan a visit you need to make an appointment.
It is a good idea to tell them in advance what you want that way they can
have the materials ready for you when you arrive.
Clallam, Island, Jefferson, San Juan,
Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom Counties
2.
Northwest
Regional Branch
Address: Western
Washington University, MS-9123
Bellingham, WA 98225-9123
Email:
state.archives@wwu.edu
Phone:
360-650-7930
You will find a brief description of what is in their
collection on their website. Your
best research goal here is to study the catalogue for details.
Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Lewis,
Mason, Pacific, Skamania, Thurston and Wahkiakum Counties.
3.
Southwest
Regional Branch
Address: 1129
Washington Street SE, Olympia, WA 98504
Email:
swresearch@secstate.wa.gov
Phone:
360-753-1684
The Southwest Region website gives a brief description of
what is in their collection. Your
best strategy is to study the main archive catalogue for more information and to
conduct your research.
We cross the Cascade Mountain Range and go to eastern
Washington
Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Franklin, Grant,
Kittitas, Klickitat, Okanogan and Yakima Counties.
3.
Central
Regional Branch
Address: Bledsoe
& Washington Archives Building
400 E. University Way, Mail Stop 7547
Ellensburg, Washington 98926-7547
Email:
archives@cwu.edu
Phone:
509-963-1753
The Central Branch website has a very detailed collections
guide online. You can start there.
Click on the guide to holdings and start researching.
Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield,
Lincoln, Pen Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, and Whitman Counties
4.
Eastern
Regional Branch
Address: 960
Washington Street on the campus of the
Eastern Washington University in Chelan, Washington 99004
Email:
era@secstate.wa.gov.
(509) 235-7508
The Eastern Branch Regional archive also has a detailed
description of what is in their collection at their website.
Click on Guide to holdings.
WASHINGTON STATE GENWEB SITE or Rootsweb
This website
provides links to county GENWEB sites, libraries and archives, newspapers,
cemeteries and more.
CYNDI’S LIST FOR WASHINGTON STATE
An option for
Cyndi’s list
Linkpendium for
Washington State Genealogy & Family History