Arizona

Explore Flagstaff history through local news, events and people with the Arizona Daily Sun Collection. Search current and archived issues with full-color newspaper pages, full-text articles and content only published online. As of April 1, 2023, an image edition of the Arizona Daily Sun is available, offering a replica of the full print edition online, available as soon as the print edition is released. Archived text articles of the Arizona Daily Sun are available from May 1, 2005 to the present. 

Coconino County is the second largest County in the continental United States and the largest county in Arizona.  Its contribution to Arizona’s mining history is significant not in the volume of mineral wealth mined, but in the diverse minerals and building materials found inside its 18,661 square miles land mass. This video collection documents the above and more with still images from multiple sources providing a well-rounded history of mining in Coconino County.  

In 1930, the first Southwest All-Indian Pow-Wow came to Flagstaff. This event, centered around the Fourth of July, featured rodeos, parades, authentic ceremonials, and the sale of arts and crafts. It quickly became an occasion for celebration and attracted members of tribes from all over America. It was Flagstaff's primary festival for many years, but the size of the crowds became unmanageable for Flagstaff residents. In 1980 Flagstaff decided to cancel the Pow-Wow permanently. This collection of historic powwow programs captures many of the images and stories behind this old tradition.

This collection comprises documents related to developing a land use plan for the Sedona Oak Creek area. The study establishes policies regarding future development patterns for all private lands within the Canyon and policies designed to protect and enhance the unique environmental qualities of the Canyon.

This collection encompasses a variety of governmental, institutional and private correspondence and agreements relating to Lake Mary, 1939-2003., Mormon Lake and Anderson Mesa, water wells, 1950-1961., general historical documents, 1899-1976., proposed Switzer Canyon dam and proposed Lake Mary pumping stations, water treatment plant, and pipelines, 1921 - 1940., pipeline improvements and Twin Peaks reservoir (the 2-50 million gallon reservoirs constructed in 1915 and 1926), 1946-1950, and sewage treatment plant (Rio de Flag), 1943-1945, 1954-1956.

A strong interest among the Flagstaff community emerged in the 1970s to document and preserve historical structures around the town. The Flagstaff Historic Sites Commission, the Arizona Historical Society-Northern Division/Northern Arizona Pioneers Historical Society along with other notable institutions in cooperation with the City of Flagstaff worked toward determining which properties in a given survey area would qualify for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Arizona State Historic Property Inventory Forms were used to document these selections comprising over 1,000 buildings many of which retained their original architectural integrity with minor or no alterations. 

The Flagstaff City Directories cover Flagstaff from the years of 1929 to 1986 (some years are missing). They present a slice of life at that time, including a brief history of Flagstaff and demographics, local attractions, clubs and organizations. They correlate with a Street and Avenue Guide covering what business or residence is located at each address. In addition to providing phone number and street addresses for residents, these unique directories can also provide marital, career, and educational status.

This collection of historical documentation is focused on both government and contractor communications involving three site locations comprising the Flagstaff Airport at different intervals during the early and mid-part of the twentieth century. 

A comprehensive listing of cemeteries and plots within Flagstaff city limits through 2009.

Free library service for individuals of all ages with various degrees of visual or physical impairments.  Services include:  lending library with over 50,000 recorded titles, loan of special equipment to play the recorded materials, movies with audio descriptions, newspapers read over the phone, books and magazines in braille, delivery and return by mail.