Territorial papers were produced in three stages. The project began when David W. Parker identified over 9000 documents of permanent value relating to the territorial period, located in various Washington, DC government offices. The historical community lobbied Congress to pass an act that required the government to publish records of the territories.
28 published volumes consist of transcribed (from handwritten documents), indexed, and annotated documents pertaining to the administration of some of the territories of the United States. In selecting among the documents, the goal was to include all significant documents (excepting those published elsewhere) of three types:
Volumes were not published for each territory. Note that the territorial papers often cross-reference to the American State Papers, which are searchable in a Readex database or freely accessible at the Library of Congress.
Funding for the project was cut significantly after the last two volumes on the Territory of Wisconsin were published. After that time, records were microfilmed and produced along with guides for Wisconsin and Iowa that provided contextual information and indexing. Microfilm was produced for Oregon and Minnesota, but the guides provide only reel-level description and no indexing. There are also many fewer reels produced, not because of lack of material, but because of further reduced funding. The National Archives continued to produce microfilm relating to the territories, but the accompanying guides are brief.
When they ran out of money for microfilming, they then produced The Trans-Mississippi West, 1804-1902, a series of four printed guides that detail the records of the territorial period of the departments of State, Justice, Agriculture, and the Interior. These volumes can be downloaded from HathiTrust.
A complete set of the volumes is digitized and available at FamilySearch.org and HathiTrust and the list below provides links to both platforms. To access records at FamilySearch.org you must create a (free) account. The volumes can be downloaded from each site. The volumes are also accessible and searchable in the HeinOnline database.
| Volume number | Title | FamilySearch.org | HathiTrust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General | FS | HT |
| 2 | The Territory northwest of the River Ohio, 1787-1803 | FS | HT |
| 3 | The Territory northwest of the River Ohio, 1787-1803 continued | FS | HT |
| 4 | The Territory south of the River Ohio, 1790-1796 | FS | HT |
| 5 | The Territory of Mississippi, 1798-1817 | FS | HT |
| 6 | The Territory of Mississippi, 1809-1817 continued | FS | HT |
| 7 | The Territory of Indiana, 1800-1810 | FS | HT |
| 8 | The Territory of Indiana, 1810-1816 continued | FS | HT |
| 9 | The Territory of Orleans, 1803-1812 | FS | HT |
| 10 | The Territory of Michigan, 1805-1820 | FS | HT |
| 11 | The Territory of Michigan, 1820-1829 continued | FS | HT |
| 12 | The Territory of Michigan, 1829-1837 continued | FS | HT |
| 13 | The Territory of Louisiana-Missouri, 1803-1806 | FS | HT |
| 14 | The Territory of Louisiana-Missouri, 1806-1814 continued | FS | HT |
| 15 | The Territory of Louisiana-Missouri, 1815-1821 continued | FS | HT |
| 16 | The Territory of Illinois, 1809-1814 | FS | HT |
| 17 | The Territory of Illinois, 1814-1818 continued | FS | HT |
| 18 | The Territory of Alabama, 1817-1819 | FS | HT |
| 19 | The Territory of Arkansas, 1819-1825 | FS | HT |
| 20 | The Territory of Arkansas, 1825-1829 continued | FS | HT |
| 21 | The Territory of Arkansas, 1829-1836 continued | FS | HT |
| 22 | The Territory of Florida, 1821-1824 | FS | HT |
| 23 | The Territory of Florida, 1824-1828 | FS | HT |
| 24 | The Territory of Florida, 1828-1834 | FS | HT |
| 25 | The Territory of Florida, 1834-1839 | FS | HT |
| 26 | The Territory of Florida, 1839-1845 | FS | HT |
| 27 | The Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1848 | FS | HT |
| 28 | The Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1848 | FS | HT |
The National Archives Records Administration created microfilm supplements for some territories that contain original images of additional documents. The list of the microfilmed records below includes links to UCB library holdings or holdings at another UC or the Center for Research Libraries, which can be requested through Interlibrary Loan. Some of the microfilm has been digitized and is available through the National Archives catalog. After accessing the digitized microfilm, look below the image for "Files Available for Download." The link provided allows you to download the complete digitized microfilm reel.
The images on the microfilm are of handwritten documents -- not transcribed -- some of which are damaged. They are not easy to read. Do use the guides for a better understanding of what is included in the microfilm and in some cases, as guides to where you can find relevant documents.
| Microfilm number | Title | Online | UC Library Search link | CRL catalog link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M236 | The Territorial Papers of the United States: The Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1848, 122 rolls Guide | |||
| M325 | The Territorial Papers of the United States: The Territory of Iowa, 1838-1846, 102 rolls Guide | T3R73A-M (5 reels) | ||
| M1049 | The Territorial Papers of the United States: The Territory of Oregon, 1848-1859, 12 rolls Guide | MF-13086 | ||
| M1050 | The Territorial Papers of the United States: The Territory of Minnesota, 1849-1858, 19 rolls Guide | MF-13100 (14 reels) | ||
| M3 | State Department Territorial Papers, Colorado, 1859-1874, 1 roll Guide | NARA | MF-19518 | |
| M12 | State Department Territorial Papers, Utah, 1853-1873, 2 rolls Guide | NARA | MF-5960 | |
| M13 | State Department Territorial Papers, Nevada, 1861-1864, 2 rolls Guide | NARA | UCLA (1 reel) | MF-19519 (1 reel) |
| M26 | State Department Territorial Papers, Washington, 1854-1872, 2 rolls Guide | NARA | MF-19520 (1 reel) | |
| M85 | State Department Territorial Papers, Wyoming, 1868-1873, 1 roll Guide | NARA | MF-19523 | |
| M116 | State Department Territorial Papers, Florida, 1777-1824, 11 rolls Guide | NARA | MICROFILM.4190.F | MF-19403 |
| M189 | Interior Department Territorial Papers: Washington, 1854-1902, 4 rolls Guide | MF-19515 | ||
| M191 | Interior Department Territorial Papers: Idaho, 1864-1890, 3 rolls Guide | MF-19525 (1 reel) | ||
| M192 | Interior Department Territorial Papers: Montana, 1867-1889, 2 rolls Guide | MF-9259 | ||
| M200 | Territorial Papers of The U.S. Senate, 1789-1873 (various territories), 20 rolls Guide | MICROFILM.4115.E | ||
| M204 | Interior Department Territorial Papers: Wyoming, 1870-1890, 6 rolls Guide | MF-3165 | ||
| M218 | State Department Territorial Papers, Kansas, 1854-1861, 2 rolls Guide | NARA | MICROFILM.4191.F | MF-7248 |
| M228 | State Department Territorial Papers, Nebraska, 1854-1867, 1 roll Guide | NARA | MICROFILM.4192.F | MF-19526 |
| M309 | State Department Territorial Papers, Dakota, 1861-1873, 1 roll Guide | NARA | MICROFILM.4189.F | |
| M310 | Interior Department Territorial Papers: Dakota, 1863-1889, 3 rolls Guide | MICROFILM.4314.F | MF-3181 | |
| M325 | State Department Territorial Papers, Iowa, 1838-1852, 102 rolls Guide | |||
| M342 | State Department Territorial Papers, Arizona, 1864-1872, 1 roll Guide | NARA | ||
| M356 | State Department Territorial Papers, Montana, 1864-1872, 2 rolls | NARA | ||
| M364 | Interior Department Territorial Papers: New Mexico, 1851-1914, 15 rolls Guide | |||
| M419 | State Department Territorial Papers, Oregon, 1848-1858, 1 roll Guide | NARA | MF-19529 | |
| M428 | Interior Department Territorial Papers: Utah, 1850-1902, 6 rolls Guide | MF-12936 | ||
| M429 | Interior Department Territorial Papers: Arizona, 1868-1913, 8 rolls Guide | T3/R73/A-M (5 reels) | ||
| M430 | Interior Department Territorial Papers: Alaska, 1869-1911, 17 rolls Guide | MF-19384 | ||
| M431 | Interior Department Territorial Papers: Colorado, 1861-1888, 1 roll Guide | MF-19530 | ||
| M445 | State Department Territorial Papers, Idaho, 1863-1872, 1 roll Guide | NARA | MF-19531 | |
| M470 | State Department Territorial Papers, Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, 1787-1801, 1 roll Guide | NARA | MICROFILM 15023 J | MF-19532 |
| M471 | State Department Territorial Papers, Territory Southwest of the River Ohio, 1790-1795, 1 roll Guide | NARA | MICROFILM.15024.F | MF-19533 |
| M827 | Interior Department Territorial Papers: Hawaii, 1898-1907, 4 rolls | |||
| M828 | Interior Department Territorial Papers: Oklahoma, 1889-1912, 5 rolls | MF-11548 | ||
| M1134 | State Department Territorial Papers, Missouri, 1812-1820, 1 roll | NARA | ||
| T17 | State Department Territorial Papers, New Mexico, 1851-1872, 4 rolls | NARA | MF-10146 | |
| T260 | State Department Territorial Papers, Orleans, 1764-1823, 13 rolls | NARA | MICROFILM.4233.F | MF-19513 |