National Archives at Riverside

United States California  Archives and Libraries  

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Contact Information
E-mail: [mailto:riverside.archives@nara.gov riverside.archives@nara.gov]

Address:


 * National Archives at Riverside 23123 Cajalco Road Perris, CA 92570-7298

Telephone: 951-956-2000 Fax:  951-956-2049

Hours and holidays: Monday through Friday, 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. Textual research room closes at 4:00 P.M. (last pull is 3:00 P.M.)

Directions and map: Click here.

Internet sites and databases:


 * National Archives at Riverside holdings, family history resources, one-of-a-kind record guides, contact information, court case files, workshops, and neighboring federal repositories.
 * Genealogy Research in Riverside getting started guide, available records, online catalog / databases.
 * Access to Archival Databases (AAD) a search engine into some of NARA's holdings of electronic records. Search by person, geographic areas, organizations, or dates.
 * Archival Research Catalog (ARC) the online catalog of over 63% of NARA's nationwide holdings. Searches by keywords, by location, organization, person, or topics, and for digitized images.
 * Archives Library Information Center (ALIC) American history and government, archival administration, information management, and government documents for archivists, librarians, and the public.

Collection Description
Over 60,000 cubic feet of archival holdings from l850 to the l990s including textual records, maps, and photos. These records were created by federal courts and nearly 80 federal agencies in:


 * southern California
 * Arizona
 * Clark County, Nevada.

Research areas include history, life and culture of 50 Native Americans groups, ethnic diversity, Chinese Exclusion, immigration and naturalization, land, settlement and development of the American West, World War II, military buildup, civilian defense and Japanese Removal, maritime history. Of special interest to genealogists are federal censuses 1790-1940, military post returns from California and Arizona, the Five Civilized Tribes, Revolutionary War service records and bounty land warrants, selected American Civil War records, passenger arrival lists, Mexican and Canadian border crossing records, passport applications, California Indian enrollment applications, postmasters, Freedmen's Bureau records, Asian immigration, naturalizations, federal land records for southern California and Arizona, sailors and merchant marines ported in southern California, tax list of Territorial Arizona, and federal District Court records.

Tips

 * No appointment is necessary, however, you can be better served if you call in advance of visiting.

Guides

 * Subject Index of Microfilm Available in the Reference Room at Riverside.
 * Guide to Archival Holdings at the National Archives at Riverside, CA alphabetical and numberical lists of record groups and their descriptions.
 * Chinese Immigration and the Chinese in the United States including U.S. District Courts, census, customs, immigration and naturalization, public health, and U.S. Marshalls.
 * Naturalization Records list of Riverside record types and years covered.
 * Sawtelle Disabled Veterans Home, Los Angeles Case Files, 1888-1933 alphabetical list of case files.
 * Records Relating to World War II alphabetical and numerical lists of record groups at Riverside.

Alternate Repositories
If you cannot visit or find a source at the , a similar source may be available at one of the following.

Overlapping Collections


 * National Archives I, Washington DC, census, pre-WWI military service &amp; pensions, passenger lists, naturalizations, passports, federal bounty land, homesteads, bankruptcy, ethnic sources, prisons, and federal employees.
 * National Archives II, College Park, MD, Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Labor, State, Transportation, and Treasury all after 1900.
 * National Archives Pacific Region (San Francisco) holding records of California (north &amp; central), Nevada (except Clark County), Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Marshall, Caroline, and Northern Mariana Islands, overseas Pacific naval bases, Asian-Pacific immigration, American Indians.
 * California State Library (Sacramento) censuses, great registers, city directories, CA historical newspapers, genealogical periodicals, death index 1905-1995, marriage index 1949-1986.
 * Nixon Presidential Library, Yorba Linda, White House tapes, textual records, and office files.
 * Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, textual records, photos, papers and speeches.

Similar Collections


 * National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, MO., has millions of military personnel, health, medical records of discharged and deceased veterans of all services starting with World War I, and federal employee records.
 * Family History Library, Salt Lake City, 450 computers, 3,400 databases, 3.1 million microforms, 4,500 periodicals, 310,000 books of worldwide family and local histories, civil, church, immigration, ethnic, military, Mormon records.
 * Bancroft Library, Berkeley, premier Western Americana, and Latin Americana collections, including Native Americans, Spanish encounter and colonial settlement, exploration of western America, maps and atlases, the Mexican War, westward migration, the Gold Rush, mining, land surveys, religious and Utopian communities, and ethnic communities.
 * Sutro Library, San Francisco, most extensive genealogy collection west of Salt Lake City.

Neighboring Collections


 * Riverside County Clerk-Recorder births, marriages, deaths, deeds, military discharge papers.
 * Riverside County Superior Court civil records, adoptions, probate, family, and criminal records.
 * Genealogical Society of Riverside Facebook page.
 * Riverside Historical Society new, calendar, journal, and contact.
 * Temecula Valley Genealogy Society events, forum, library, and researchers.
 * Repositories in surrounding counties: Imperial, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Yuma AZ.
 * African American Museum and Library at Oakland interprets their experience in CA and the West.
 * California State Archives, Sacramento, has county records, such as court records, prison records, wills, deeds, as well as military records, state census records, and school records.
 * California Historical Society, San Francisco, economic, social, political, and cultural heritage including 50,000 books, 4,000 manuscripts, photos, maps, newspapers, and artifacts.
 * California Genealogical Society and Library, Oakland, family, local, and state histories, maps, reference books, periodicals, the Bay Area, Gold Rush, New England, mid-Atlantic states and others.
 * Chinese Historical Society, San Francisco, Chinese-American history, including art, and artifacts.
 * Repositories in other surrounding states: Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Baja California, Sonora.
 * State Library of Arizona, Phoenix, censuses, genealogical periodicals, immigration and naturalization records, New England town vital records, DE PA and NJ Archives, Internet sites.
 * Hawaii State Library, Honolulu, federal documents, Hawaii and Pacific, language, and history.
 * Nevada State Library and Archives, Carson City, births, marriages, deaths, censuses, military.
 * Oregon State Archives, Salem, country records and histories, territorial papers, early settlers database, adoptions, census, land, military, naturalization, probate, and vital records.
 * Archivo General de la Nación (AGN), Mexico City, church, civil, census, court, history, military, migration, land.