Scope of the Collection

Established in 1978, the USA Archives' collection policy emphasizes the preservation of photographs, manuscripts, and corporate records documenting late nineteenth- and twentieth-century Mobile and south Alabama. Currently, the Archives houses more than 2,115 cubic feet of manuscript and archival material.

In addition, the Archives has grown to have one of the largest photographic collections in the region. One of these, the Erik Overbey collection, spans over fifty years (c. 1906-63) and contains thousands of negatives and prints. Another, the Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company collection, is especially strong for the years of World War II.

Some of the more important records and manuscript collections in the archives include: the papers of Congressman Jack Edwards, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives, District 1, Alabama from 1964 to 1984; a large body of material from the civil rights era including the papers of John LeFlore and the Non-Partisan Voters League records; the papers of one of Alabama's first black lawyers, Vernon Z. Crawford, which span the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s; and the Mobile County Circuit Court records (c. 1830-1917).

The Archives has a large collection of reference materials such as city directories, newspapers, books, and journals which support the collections and are available to researchers. A list of local newspapers is available on this website.

The Archives also collects material relating to the history and development of the University of South Alabama itself.