Archival Resources

Collections housed at the UWRF Archives are divided into two main sections: University Archives and Area Research Center (ARC) collections.

University Archives Collections

The UWRF University Archives serves as the official repository for the permanent, historical records of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. The University Archives collects and preserves materials pertaining to the establishment, development, history, and traditions of the University.

Most university records can be found in the UWRF online catalog. You may also search by the collection inventories, also called finding aids, which include important information about a collection such as a summary of the collection's content, dates of materials in the collection, and box/folder listings.

The University Archives and Area research Center has a small collection of museum items (3D objects). These are mostly university-related, but there are also some items from the four-county area. Examples include university-themed clothing and hats, a branding iron, several quilts and blankets, social and political buttons, pennants, university time capsules, and Kansas City Chiefs memorabilia from summer training camp.

Area Research Center (ARC) collections

ARC collections cover the geographic region of Burnett, Pierce, Polk, and St. Croix Counties. A large number of materials in the Area Research Center collection are owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society but managed by the UWRF Archives as part of our membership in the ARC network.

Manuscripts

Manuscripts collections are comprised of the papers, records, and photographs created by organizations, individuals, and institutions. These materials represent the lives and work of community members, businesses, and organizations from the St. Croix River Valley.

Manuscript collections include things such as the records of local businesses, community organizations, and churches, as well as personal diaries, letters, and scrapbooks. You may search for manuscripts collections in UWRF ARC collections with our archival collection search, UWRF AtoM (includes digitized photos), or look for items available in the larger Wisconsin ARC network via search@UW.

Local Government Records

Our local government records collections are comprised of materials generated by local government units including but not limited to county naturalization (citizenship) records, tax and/or assessment rolls, court records, school records, city and county board minutes, circuit and county court records, and vital statistics.

You may search for local government records collections in UWRF ARC collections with our archival collection search, UWRF AtoM (includes photos), or look for items available in the larger Wisconsin ARC network via search@UW.

Newspapers

Our large collection of newspapers include local papers covering our four-county area (Burnett, Pierce, Polk, and St. Croix) dating from the mid-1800s up to the present, as well as newspapers from Washburn County. (Until the late 1990s, the River Falls ARC also covered Washburn County.) Newspapers are available on microfilm in the Archives Reading Room on the UWRF campus.

Rare Books and Local History

The UWRF Archives' Rare books and local history collections are comprised of rare or unusual publications; older agricultural, Civil War, and Wisconsin and Saint Croix Valley history books; local and county histories; printed family histories and genealogies; area cookbooks; maps and atlases; books authored by local area residents; and books authored by UWRF faculty, staff, or students.

The University of Wisconsin-River Falls Area Research Center materials supplements our rare books and local history collections with material such as church and cemetery records, oral histories, federal and state census records, local serials, and more.

We also have a biographical index of Birth, Marriage, Death notices, and obituaries. For more information see the section of the same name in the Newspaper resource page.