The historic Southwest Museum was founded by Charles Fletcher Lummis and incorporated in Los Angeles, California on 1907 December 31, making it the city's first museum. The Southwest Museum is known nationally and internationally for the archaeological, ethnological and library collections that it held relating to Native Americans spanning from Alaska to Terra del Fuego. In 2003, the Southwest Museum of the American Indian and the Autry Museum of Western Heritage merged to form the Autry National Center of the American West (now called Autry Museum of the American West). The institutional archives of the Southwest Museum document over 100 years of its operations, development, and staff. Materials, created between 1901 and 2008, include office files, legal documents, reports, financial records, architectural drawings and building plans, photographs, and publications created by the Museum and its Board of Trustees. Also included are some material created by outside individuals and groups.

The Southwest Museum was founded by Charles Fletcher Lummis and incorporated in Los Angeles, California on 1907 December 31, making it the city's first museum. The Southwest Museum is known nationally and internationally for the archaeological, ethnological and library collections that it held relating to Native Americans spanning from Alaska to Terra del Fuego.

776 Linear Feet (1,033 document boxes, 41 oversized boxes, 25 oversized folders)

Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Research Services and Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives and fill out the Researcher Application Form.