Effective May 4, 2026, the email domain for State Historical Society of Iowa employee addresses and inboxes will change from @iowa.gov to @das.iowa.gov.
Published on
April 29, 2026
RG 049 State Historical Society of Iowa
Topics:
State Archives
The State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI) was founded in Iowa City in 1857 with the original goal to have a library of materials illustrative of the state of Iowa, as well as publish materials on Iowa and have a dedicated membership under direction of a Board of Curators.
In 1892, The Historical Department in Des Moines was established as a museum, and would eventually include a library, newspaper and census department, and the State Archives. The Department in Des Moines would reorganize in 1939 as the Department of History and Archives.
In 1974 via HF1491, these two departments were combined into two divisions of the State Historical Department. In 1986 as part of the comprehensive statewide reorganization via SF 2175, the Historical Department was dissolved and both of these divisions merged into the State Historical Society of Iowa under the Department of Cultural Affairs.
In 2023 via SF 514, the Department of Cultural Affairs dissolved and the State Historical Museum and Library and Archives Bureaus of SHSI became a part of the Department of Administrative Services and the State Historic Preservation Office became a part of the Economic Development Authority. Some records after 1986 may be available in RG 109 Cultural Affairs.
