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List of historical societies in the United States

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This is a partial list of historical and heritage societies in the United States.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.

National societies

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State societies

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Societies with museums include:

Other state associations

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Territorial societies

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Federal District societies

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County and local societies

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Alabama

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  • Birmingham Historical Society[6]
  • Blount County Historical Society[5]
  • Bullock County Historical Society[5]
  • Cherokee County Historical Society[5]
  • Chilton County Historical Society[5]
  • Clarke County Historical Society[5]
  • Clay County Historical Society[5]
  • Crenshaw County Historical Society[5]
  • Elmore County Historical Society[5]
  • Escambia County Historical Society[5]
  • Fayette County Historical Society[5]
  • Greene County Historical Society[5]
  • Hale County Historical Society[6]
  • Lee County Historical Society[5]
  • Limestone County Historical Society[5]
  • Marengo County Historical Society[5]
  • Marion County Historical Society[5]
  • Mobile Historical Society[6]
  • Montgomery County Historical Society[5]
  • Randolph County Historical Society[5]
  • Russell County Historical Society[6]
  • Shelby County Historical Society[5]
  • Washington County Historical Society[5]
  • West Jefferson County Historical Society[5]

Alaska

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Arizona

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  • Apache County Historical Society[5]
  • Arizona Pioneers' Historical Society[6]
  • Gila County Historical Society[5]
  • Graham County Historical Society[5]
  • Maricopa County Historical Society[5]
  • Mohave County Historical Society[5]
  • Navaho County Historical Society[5]
  • Northern Gila County Historical Society[5]
  • Prescott Historical Society[6]
  • Yuma County Historical Society[5]

Arkansas

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Image
Johnson County Historical Society building in Clarksville, Arkansas (photo 2021)

California

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Colorado

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Connecticut

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Delaware

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Image
Georgetown Historical Society building in Delaware, US in 2020

Florida

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Georgia

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Hawaii

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  • Kaua'i Historical Society [15]
  • Maui Historical Society[16]
  • Wahiawa Historical Society[5]

Idaho

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Illinois

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Indiana

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Iowa

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Kansas

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Kentucky

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  • Adair County Historical Society[17]
  • Allen County Historical Society[18]
  • Anderson County Historical Society[17]
  • Barren County Historical Society[17]
  • Big Sandy Valley Historical Society[12][19]
  • Boone County Historical Society[20]
  • Boyle County Historical Society[21]
  • Clay County Historical Society[22]
  • Eastern Kentucky Historical Society[17]
  • Erlanger Historical Society[20]
  • Filson Historical Society[23]
  • Hart County Historical Society[5]
  • Henderson County Historical Society[6]
  • Kenton County Historical Society[20]
  • Kentucky Genealogical Society[12]
  • Lincoln County Historical Society[5]
  • Livingston County Historical Society[18]
  • Louisville Southern Historical Society[24]
  • Oldham County Historical Society[5]
  • Red River Historical Society[18]
  • Simpson County Historical Society[5]
  • Woodford County Historical Society[18]

Louisiana

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Maine

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Maryland

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Massachusetts

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Michigan

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Minnesota

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Mississippi

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Image
Simpson County Historical Society building in Mississippi (photo 2019)
  • Biloxi Historical Society[25]
  • Bolivar County Historical Society[26]
  • Canton Madison County Historical Society[5][25]
  • Hancock County Historical Society[5]
  • Hattiesburg Area Historical Society[3]
  • Itawamba Historical Society[23][25]
  • Historical Society of Jackson County[27]
  • Kosciusdko Attala Historical Society[5]
  • Lawrence County Historical Society[5]
  • Lucedale George County Historical Society [5]
  • Marion County Historical Society[26]
  • Marshall County Historical Society
  • Mississippi Methodist Historical Society[6][28]
  • Noxubee County Historical Society[26]
  • Pass Christian Historical Society[5]
  • Pontotoc County Historical Society[5]
  • Simpson County Historical and Genealogical Society[29]
  • South Tishomingo County Historical Society[29]
  • Tishomingo County Historical & Genealogical Society[5]
  • Union County Historical Society[5]
  • Vicksburg & Warren County Historical Society[5]

Missouri

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Image
1920 newspaper item about the formation of the Clark County Historical Society, Missouri

Montana

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  • Cascade County Historical Society[16]
  • Glacier County Historical Society[16]
  • Upper Swan Valley Historical Society[5]

Nebraska

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Nevada

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New Hampshire

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New Jersey

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New Mexico

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New York

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North Carolina

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North Dakota

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Image
McLean County Historical Society museum building in Washburn, North Dakota (photo 2007)

Ohio

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Oklahoma

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Oregon

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  • Benton County Historical Society[39]
  • Clatsop County Historical Society[5]
  • Cottage Grove Historical Society[40]
  • Gresham Historical Society[40][41]
  • Josephine County Historical Society[16]
  • Lane County Historical Society[12]
  • Old Fort Dalles Historical Society[6]
  • Polk County Historical Society[40][41]
  • Portland Historical Society[12]
  • Sandy Historical Society[40][12]
  • Silverton Country Historical Society[40]
  • Southern Oregon Historical Society[39]
  • Tillamock County Pioneer Association[6]
  • Umatilla County Historical Society[42]

Pennsylvania

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Rhode Island

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South Carolina

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South Dakota

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  • Brookings County Historical Society[5]
  • Codington County Historical Society[5]
  • Custer County Historical Society[5]
  • Lake County Historical Society[5]
  • Minnehaha County Historical Society[6]
  • Sully County Historical Society[5]
  • Union County Historical Society[5]
  • Yankton County Historical Society[5]

Tennessee

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Texas

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Utah

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  • Alta Historical Society[citation needed]
  • Cache Valley Historical Society
  • Delta County Historical Society
  • Draper Utah Historical Society
  • Fort Harmony Historical Society
  • Iron County Historical Society
  • Lehi Historical Society and Archives
  • Morgan County Historical Society
  • Park City Historical Society
  • Riverton Historical Society
  • Smithfield Historical Society
  • Summit County Historical Society
  • Tooele County Historical Society
  • Washington County Historical Society
  • West Jordan Historical Society
  • West Valley Historical Society

Vermont

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Virginia

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Washington

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West Virginia

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Wisconsin

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Wyoming

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See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "California Historical Society to Dissolve and Transfer Collections to Stanford", nytimes.com, January 28, 2025
  2. ↑ Su Kim Chung (2015). "We Seek to Be Patient": Jeanne Wier and the Nevada Historical Society, 1904-1950 (PhD thesis). University of California, Los Angeles – via escholarship.org.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 American Association for State and Local History (2002), Directory of historical organizations in the United States and Canada (15th ed.), Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, ISBN 9780759100022 – via archive.org
  4. 1 2 "Historic Districts Coalition", dcpreservation.org, Washington, DC: DC Preservation League, retrieved November 15, 2025
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 "Nonprofit Explorer", propublica.org, New York: ProPublica, retrieved June 26, 2025
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 American Association for State and Local History (1944), Historical societies in the United States and Canada: a handbook, Washington, D.C – via HathiTrust{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Elva R. Scott Local Historical Society Award", alaskahistoricalsociety.org, Alaska Historical Society, retrieved July 9, 2025
  8. 1 2 "Alaska's Digital Archives", vilda.alaska.edu, OCLC 850948178, retrieved July 9, 2025
  9. ↑ The Frontiersman, Palmer, Alaska, May 23, 1963 – via Chronicling America{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ↑ "Nome Historical Society changes meeting days", Nome Nugget, Alaska, August 3, 1962 – via Chronicling America
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Historians & Historic Organizations", encyclopediaofarkansas.net, Central Arkansas Library System, retrieved July 8, 2025
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Social Networks and Archival Context, United States: SNAC Cooperative, retrieved June 25, 2025
  13. ↑ "Early pioneers of Pope", Russellville Democrat, Arkansas, May 11, 1876 – via Chronicling America, Report of Caleb Davis to the Pope County Historical Society
  14. ↑ "Stone County Historical Society – Mountain View-AR". Retrieved July 17, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Kaua'i Historical Society | Established 1914". kauaihistoricalsociety.org. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Terry Abraham, ed. (2015), "Western United States and Canada", Repositories of Primary Sources, 1995-2015, University of Idaho Library
  17. 1 2 3 4 "News and Notes: Local Societies", The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, vol. 62, no. 2, p. 162+, April 1964, JSTOR 23375901
  18. 1 2 3 4 "Kentucky Local History Trust Fund", history.ky.gov, Kentucky Historical Society, retrieved July 7, 2025
  19. ↑ "Local History and Genealogy", LibGuides, Kentucky: Big Sandy Community and Technical College, retrieved July 4, 2025
  20. 1 2 3 "Kentucky Digital Library", kyvl.org, Kentucky Virtual Library, retrieved July 7, 2025
  21. ↑ Appleton Prentiss Clark Griffin (1907), Bibliography of American Historical Societies (2nd ed.), Washington DC: Government Printing Office – via HathiTrust
  22. ↑ "Annual History Awards | Kentucky Historical Society". KY Historical Society.
  23. 1 2 Terry Abraham, ed. (2015), "Eastern United States and Canada", Repositories of Primary Sources, 1995-2015, University of Idaho Library
  24. ↑ "Historical societies in the United States", Officers, Act of incorporation, Constitution, List of members, Historical societies in the United States, 1896, Baltimore, MD: American Historical Association, 1896, p. 42+ – via HathiTrust
  25. 1 2 3 "Local Historical Societies", mississippihistory.org, Mississippi Historical Society, retrieved July 10, 2025
  26. 1 2 3 "Award Recipients: Outstanding Local Historical Society Award (formerly Frank E. Everett, Jr. Award)", mississippihistory.org, Mississippi Historical Society, retrieved July 10, 2025
  27. ↑ "O.S. scouts sell tags for county historical society", Pascagoula Chronicle-Star and Moss Point Advertiser, Mississippi, October 13, 1950 – via Chronicling America
  28. ↑ "M.E. Historical Society to meet", Hattiesburg News, Mississippi, October 21, 1913 – via Chronicling America
  29. 1 2 "Partners", msdiglib.org, Mississippi Digital Library, retrieved July 10, 2025
  30. ↑ "Clark County's New Society", The Daily Gate City and Constitution-Democrat, Keokuk, Iowa, January 27, 1920 – via Chronicling America
  31. ↑ Society, Missouri Historical. "https://mohistory.org/https:". The Missouri Historical Society is ... Missouri Historical Society and was founded in 1866. Retrieved July 17, 2026. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  32. 1 2 "Missouri Local Historical and Genealogical Societies Directory", shsmo.org, State Historical Society of Missouri, retrieved July 26, 2024
  33. ↑ "Links of Interest", frenchcolonialstudies.org, Illinois, US: Center for French Colonial Studies, retrieved July 20, 2025
  34. ↑ "Digital Initiatives: North Dakota Memories Collection", LibGuides, Bismarck, ND: North Dakota State Library, retrieved July 10, 2025
  35. 1 2 3 "North Dakota State Archives", history.nd.gov, Bismarck, ND: State Historical Society of North Dakota, retrieved July 10, 2025
  36. 1 2 3 "Partners", Gateway to Oklahoma History, Oklahoma Historical Society, retrieved July 7, 2025
  37. ↑ Michele Seikel; Tabitha Manners, Oklahoma Digital Collections (PDF), Oklahoma Library Association, retrieved July 7, 2025
  38. ↑ "Spencer Historical Society Binder 01 | Metropolitan Library System". www.metrolibrary.org.
  39. 1 2 "Historic Preservation", Research Guides, University of Oregon Libraries, retrieved July 7, 2025
  40. 1 2 3 4 5 "Regional Historical Societies and History Museums", Oregon Blue Book, Oregon Secretary of State, retrieved July 7, 2025
  41. 1 2 "Contributing Organizations", northwestdigitalheritage.org, Northwest Digital Heritage, retrieved July 7, 2025
  42. ↑ "Home historical society commended by speaker", East Oregonian, Pendleton, OR, November 24, 1913 – via Library of Congress' Chronicling America

Further reading

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  • Julian P. Boyd. "State and local historical societies in the United States." The American Historical Review 40.1 (1934): 10–37.
  • Leslie Dunlop (1944), American Historical Societies, 1790-1860, University of Wisconsin (thesis)
  • Walter Muir Whitehill (1962), Independent Historical Societies: An Enquiry into Their Research and Publication Functions and Their Financial Future, Harvard University Press, ISBN 9780674448254 {{citation}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  • Houston Gwynne Jones, ed. Historical Consciousness in the Early Republic: The Origins of State Historical Societies, Museums, and Collections, 1791-1861 (North Caroliniana Society and North Carolina Collection, 1995)
  • Sara Lawrence (December 11, 2003), "History of Historical Societies in the U.S.", publichistory.org, US: Public History Resource Center, archived from the original on November 3, 2004 – via Wayback Machine
  • Ryan Schumacher. "The Wisconsin Magazine of History: A Case Study in Scholarly and Popular Approaches to American State Historical Society Publishing, 1917–2000." Journal of Scholarly Publishing 44.2 (2013): 114–141.
  • 2022 National Census of History Organizations, American Association for State and Local History
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