The DC Archives is the largest collection of history about the District of Columbia.
The District of Columbia Archives & Office of Public Records (OPR), is responsible for the stewardship of DC’s government records, and is equivalent to a State Archives. Currently, the documents it is meant to protect are scattered around the city, and key collections are located in a converted horse stable on Naylor Court, in Shaw. A lack of funding has left it degrading and nearly unusable for 30 years. But you can help bring about a change.
Save the DC Archives!
What can I find in the DC Archives?
Millions of documents that tell more than 200 years of D.C.’s history. Stories from people of all races, classes and genders, and from all eight wards are waiting to be uncovered at the DC Archives. When pieced together, the mundane but universal paperwork filed in city agencies — marriage licenses, pothole complaints and commission reports — tells vivid stories about the District. When a historian or family genealogist wants to reconstruct the lives of ordinary residents and fact-check the stories newsmakers tell us, they turn to these documents.
Who are the DC Archives Advocates?
We are a group of historians, archivists, cultural leaders, and users of archives who are tired of being unable to share the amazing history the archives holds with the people of DC.
