The Dallas Municipal Archives

by Suzan Younger

The City of Dallas established its municipal archives in 1985. These archives collect city departmental records and other manuscript collections relevant to Dallas. The collections contain ledgers, manuscripts/typescripts, maps, photographs, microforms, printed material, valuable documents, and architectural plans reflecting Dallas government and operations. It is not a library. Neither does it contain typical genealogical material, however, it might contain information that adds to your family’s story, gives background and details about the community in which the family lived, and adds to the family timeline.

The best place to start is on the archives website.

Navigate to the Archives Collection Guides by clicking on the COLLECTIONS button on the left side of the home page. This page groups the material into high-level subjects for an initial overview of the archive’s material. There are links to the different collections that give an overview of the collection, its scope and content, its organization, access rules, a citation model, and links to related material. The Archives Collection Guides page includes a link to a complete list of all collection guides and lists the collection by identification numbers.

There is a link to each of the collections with even more details. The Container list gives the box number and the titles of each folder in that box. Here is an example of a collection guide for the Frances James Cemetery Files Collection, 1900-2018.

The material in each folder varies. A quick review of material in the thirteen folders for the Garvin Cemetery in Box 13 included historical write-ups, correspondence, reports, some information on the burials in the cemetery, deeds, newspaper clippings, and more.

It’s a must to visit the archives and browse the material of interest to you. So what might be of interest, even if you can’t expect to identify your grandmother’s maiden name? Here are a few suggestions for researching people who lived in Dallas or had business dealings with Dallas City.

1. History of neighborhoods, annexations of smaller towns into the Dallas city limits
2. History of specific buildings
3. Interested in a Dallas public school
4. Interest in a specific cemetery*
5. Did your research subject work for the city or serve as an elected official?
6. Did your research subject serve on a committee, board, commission, task force?
7. Did your research subject do business with Dallas City?

There are treasures waiting to be discovered in any archives, and the Dallas Municipal Archives are no exception. First, study the website and click through to the different collections. Then call and speak to the city archivist or assistant city archivist for more information and additional suggestions. Archival research is not as straightforward as research in a library, but there are rewards to be had.

Information about visiting the Dallas Municipal Archives

Contact information:

1. Email: municipal.archives@dallascityhall.com
2. City archivist: John Slate, phone 214.670.5270
3. Assistant city archivist: Kristi Nedderman, phone 214.671.8972

Office hours:

1. Call any time 8:00-5:15, M-F
2. Onsite research: by appointment only, M-Th

Location:

1. Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla Street in downtown Dallas, Texas
2. Office L2DN (basement level two)
3. Location, Hours, and Parking information on the website.

Visiting the Archives

1. Click here for information on the website about rules and preparing for a visit.
2. A word of warning. The archives are on the second level below ground. Cell phone service or phone Internet hot spots are limited, if not unavailable.

Happy hunting!

*See the Dallas Genealogical Society’s collection of local records for cemeteries here.