Primary Sources for Local History

From ExploreSouthernHistory.com

From the 1500s through the present. From Pensapedia.

Search the online collections database, containing maps, documents and ephemera related to the history of Northwest Florida, and a collection of thousands of photographs and negatives of the area and its inhabitants from the mid-19th century to the present.

The collection is very broad and diverse, covering nearly every type of historical material: furniture, costumes and textiles including an impressive collection of quilts; currency, coins and tokens; musical instruments; industrial-business machines and equipment; political and governmental items and documents; civilian and military weapons; hardware and tool; fraternal materials; farming equipment; personal and household items; sawmill machinery and equipment; and large vehicles and rolling stock.

1780 diary of Bernardo de Galvez, who seized Pensacola from British forces.

Personal account of shipwright Jonathan Walker, who helped 7 Pensacola slaves escape in 1844, for which he was jailed and branded.

Images from the Special Collections Departmetn of the John C. Pace Library at the University of West Florida ranging from the late 19th century to the middle of the 20th century.

Ola M. Johnson Bailey and Richard Wilson discuss aspects of West Florida's Civil Rights Movement. On audio tape at the University of West Florida University Archives and West Florida History Center

Houses primary sources covering the Southeastern United States, with a focus on genealogical records. Civil War troop rosters, information on local Native American tribes, funeral records, census data, and local newspapers are available.

The Emil Buehler Naval Aviation Library’s holdings primarily focus on the development of U.S. Naval Aviation from 1911–present, though there are manuscript collections that cover non-aviation related naval activities. Specifically, the categories of collections include manuscripts, books and technical manuals, photographs, oral recollections, and subject vertical files.