About the Center

The Placer County Archive and Research Center is open by appointment only. 

Appointments are available on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, 9am-12pm and 1pm-3pm. To make a research appointment please contact Curator of Archives, Kelsey Monahan, at (530) 889-7789 or [email protected]. 

As a part of the Museums Division, the Placer County Archive and Collections Facility shares the division's mission to preserve the county's rich historic and cultural legacy.

Both the Collections as well as the Archives are collectors of private collections which are held in the public trust for the benefit of humanity. While the Collections side cares for three-dimensional artifacts, the Archive maintains extensive collections of photographs, maps, oral histories, newspapers, and private manuscripts while also serving as the official repository for historic records generated by the County of Placer since the county was established in 1851.

Archives Online

The Placer County Archives has embarked on a new journey to make digitized archival material accessible to the public using our Archives Online Database.

Photo Collecting

Our extensive photo collection stretches all the way back to the dawn of photography because of people donating their personal photos. Be a part of history by donating your photos. Historic or modern, we're interested to see what you have. Ouronline photograph submission page is the quickest way to donate your pictures that capture the area's history. 

Story Collecting

     

In addition to photos and documents, the archives also collect personal stories. Since we are currently living through a world-changing event, we've put together a survey to find out just how the residents of Placer County feel about the Pandemic. Make your voice part of history by filling out our online Pandemic 2021 Survey. The historians of 2120 thank you in advance.

Contents

Among the largest County-generated archival collections include (but are not limited to):

• Assessment Rolls and Maps: 1851 to 1961
• Board of Supervisor's Minutes: 1852 to 1980
• Court Case Files: 1851 to 1925
• Deed Books: 1851 to 1960
• Department of Education Records: 1895 to 1997
• Great Register of Voters: 1867 to 1974
• Mining Records: 1856 to 1947
• Naturalization Papers: 1852 to 1939
• Probate: 1851 to 1960
• Record of Wills: 1874 to 1963
• On-Site Research

Museum Collections

Learn more about  Placer County collections.