Online Collections
Online Collections
The Austin History Center has partnered with several other organizations to digitize some of our holdings and make them available online. Read about them below.
A selection of materials from our collections is also available on our Austin History Center Digital Collections site. You can also use other databases and online reference tools. Our online exhibits have additional digitized materials. To view some of our videos visit our YouTube page.
Online Text-Based Collections
Austin city directories from 1872-73, 1877-78, 1881-82, 1885-86, 1889-90, 1897-98, 1906-7, 1912-13, 1918, and 1922 are scanned and searchable online through the Portal to Texas History.
The O. Henry Collection consists primarily of the short stories of William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), written under his pseudonym O. Henry. Each story is available as it first appeared in the popular magazines of the day, and these and other stories published posthumously can also be found in first edition compilation books, and later as part of his collected works. The online sampling also includes some legal documents, photographs, letters, postcards, and other ephemera.
Pease, Graham and Niles Families Papers
The Pease, Graham, and Niles Families Papers consist of materials related to multiple generations of the families of Elisha Marshall Pease, who was governor of Texas from 1853 to 1857 and from 1867 to 1869, and his wife, Lucadia Christiana (Niles) Pease. The collection is composed of five different acquisitions and includes personal, professional, and political documents from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. E. M. Pease and his family were meticulous record keepers, allowing current and future generations a very detailed and intimate view into the personal and professional accomplishments of three noted American families. Included in the Papers are correspondence; agreements, contracts, and deeds; ledgers; maps and blueprints; broadsides and circulars; diaries and journals; newspaper clippings; books and magazines; bills and receipts; and photographs. This online collection through the Portal to Texas History includes a sampling of more than 100 items from the collection and represents the breadth of subjects covered in the papers.
The Rag was a campus underground newspaper published by students at the University of Texas at Austin in the 1960s and 1970s. The digital collection is hosted by Independent Voices by Reveal Digital.
60 books related to Texas history from the holdings of the Austin History Center have been scanned and made available online through the Portal to Texas History.
Online Photo Collections
The Austin History Center has partnered with the University of North Texas' Portal to Texas History and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission to bring selections from some of our most interesting photo collections online. Browse all of our images available on the Portal or use the links below to browse specific collections.
General Collection Photographs (Austin Files)
The General Collection Photographs (also called the Austin Files) consist of files organized by subject, biography, and street address ranging from the beginnings of the city to the present day. The photographs come from local citizens, city departments or other organizations. The subject files cover a wide range of topics. Only a small portion of these photographs (about 650) have been digitized. Image: [Anderson High School Students], PICA 20859
Bergstrom-Austin Community Council Records Photographs
This collection contains photographs documenting over five decades of history of Bergstrom Air Force Base, originally known as Del Valle Air Base, from the 1940s until 1993. The photographs depict base buildings, personnel, aircraft, and events including drills, ceremonies, and festivals. More than 250 photographs from the collection are available online. Image: [Aircrew Class 69-10B], 1968, AR.2000.024(121)
Chalberg Collection of Prints and Negatives
The bulk of the Chalberg Collection images cover Austin from 1900 to 1941, although some images of 19th century Austin are included. The collection comes from the Ellison Photo Company. More than 250 images are viewable online. Image: Congress Ave. & Sixth Street, C02001
Dewey Mears Photograph Archive
Dewey Mears was a leading architectural photographer in Central Texas in the mid-20th century. More than one thousand photographs have been digitized. Image: [Roessner Residence Interior], DM-53-C17562B
Frank Caldwell’s collection contains photographs documenting Texas towns, events, and people from the 1880s through the 1930s. More than 250 photographs are available online. Image: [Boy Dressed as a Cowboy], AR.X.016(D116)
Hubert Jones Glass Plate Collection
This collection contains 466 glass plate negatives documenting late 19th-century Austin life. Image: [Unidentified Family], J025
The Bickler Family Papers document Central Texas life from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Image: [Bickler Family], AR.Y.005(2046)
Neal Douglass Photograph Archive
The Neal Douglass Photograph Archive consists of more than 50,000 photographic negatives. Nearly 4,000 images are viewable online. Image: Cowboy Rope Trick, ND-nd-A001-06
Travis County Negro Extension Service Photograph Collection
This collection documents agricultural and community programs serving African-American residents during segregation. More than 250 photographs are available online. Image: [Children and Award-Winning Cow], AR.2000.025(053)
Austin History Center channel on HistoryPin
The AHC has a channel on HistoryPin which allows photographs to be geolocated on a map and searched by timeframe. Over 100 photographs are viewable.
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