Local History and Western Pennsylvania collections provide resources on topics related to the city of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. Materials include personal, family, business, or group papers and correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, maps, and ephemera.

Finding aids to these collections will be hosted on Historic Pittsburgh. Links to finding aids will be added to this page as they become available. Some manuscript collections are available in microfilm.

Craig Papers – Over 5,000 items that reflect the career of Major Isaac Craig, as quarter master general of the U.S. Army at Fort Pitt from 1768 to 1808.

James W Knox – Papers and correspondence collected by James W. Knox concerning his life and work as Allegheny County Controller from 1948 to 1968.

Leon A. Arkus Collection of John Kane – Documents and materials collected by Leon Arkus (Former Director of the Museum of Art), author of John Kane, Painter, concerning the life and work of folk artist, John Kane.

Liberty Tunnel – Collection contains daily accounts of the construction of the tunnels from 1893 to 1924.

Performing Arts and House Tours Programs – Materials and programs from various performing arts and cultural events that took place in Pittsburgh from 1970 to 2001.

Pittsburgh Music Archives – This collection comprises scrapbooks, clipping files, music manuscripts, and other uncatalogued archival materials pertaining to the history of music in Pittsburgh, primarily during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Pittsburgh Regional Planning Association – This collection comprises reports, minutes, proposals, studies, plans, and newspaper clippings dealing with the association from 1914 to 1973.

Southern Telegraph Company – Correspondence and telegraph receipts concerning the telegraph lines in the Confederate States of America that were used by the Confederate Army from 1856 to 1877.

Stefan Lorant Collection – Contains extensive notes and drafts for each chapter of Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City from 1953 to 1963.