Archival Research Catalog (ARC)
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Search Hints for the Great Lakes Region


ARC ID 282335, Excavator on Mile 52 being pulled by traction-engine, plow side. August 8, 1904

The National Archives (NARA) Great Lakes Region in Chicago, Illinois, is one of the National Archives' 11 Regional Archives. The Archival Research Catalog (ARC) includes descriptions of records held by the Regional Archives. The online catalog allows you to filter your search results by location. The search hints below highlight the Great Lakes Region records available in ARC. The Great Lakes Region holds federal records from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

ARC is a work in progress, and NARA staff add new descriptions to ARC all the time. More than 68% of the Regional Archives records are currently described in ARC at the series level. If you do not find the records you are seeking, please contact the Great Lakes Region (Chicago) staff.

Featured Topics

The featured topics are a sample of subjects covered by records held by the Great Lakes Region (Chicago) and described in ARC. Follow the search instructions, or customize your search with your own keywords.

  1. Go to http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/.
  2. Press the yellow Search button to go to the Basic search screen.
  3. Enter keywords (use some of the sample keywords below or your own) in the Keywords box.
  4. Select the limit results radio button for 2000.
  5. (Optional step:) Select the box marked Descriptions of Archival Materials linked to digital copies to retrieve digitized documents and photographs.
  6. Select the Location filter for NARA's Great Lakes Region (Chicago) .
  7. Press the Go button.
  8. When hits are returned for your search, view the full result of your hit by selecting the Title link.

Topics Sample ARC Keyword Searches Sample Digitized Documents

Agriculture and Farming
  • Agricultur%
  • Farm%
  • Soil conservation
  • Farm ownership

Note: The percent sign (%) works as a wildcard character for keyword searching in ARC.

ARC ID 282478, "Caterpillar" Forty Tractor, ca. 1935

American Indians
  • Indian or Native American

ARC ID 282299, [Survey of Allotment,] John Wayman, Jr., 1922

Cities
  • Chicago
  • Detroit
  • Minneapolis
  • St. Paul

     

ARC ID 281848, Certificate of Arrival, Number 11 358363, for Saul Bellow, 06/02/1943

Courts and Court Cases
  • Criminal case
  • Civil case
  • Bankruptcy
  • Docket or dockets
  • Court and [state name]

ARC ID 594674, Tucker "Torpedo" Patent Drawing , 06/14/1949

Crime and Criminal Cases
  • Al Capone
  • Daniel Benton
  • Criminal Case%

ARC ID 628966, Al Capone's Guilty Verdict, 10/17/1931
Engineering
  • Engineers or engineering
  • Mississippi or Mississippi River
  • Canal or canals
  • Dam or dams or cofferdam or lock or locks

ARC ID 282430, Dam No. 6, 02/06/1935
Enrico Fermi
(Nobel Prize-Winning Physicist)
  • Enrico Fermi

ARC ID 595043, Enrico Fermi, ca. 1950

Immigration and Naturalization
  • Immigra%
  • Naturalization
  • Naturalization and [state name, ex. Wisconsin]

ARC ID 281925, Declaration of Intention for Esther Gullekson, 05/20/1942

Natural Environment
  • Lake or lakes
  • Mountain or mountains or mount
  • River or rivers

ARC ID 282364, Map of the St. Mary's Lake Region, Montana, 10/1891
Navy
  • Naval or Navy
  • African Americans and Navy

ARC ID 283489, … U.S. Naval Ammunition Depot, Hastings, Nebraska, 1944?

Railroads
  • Railroad or railroads
  • Locomotive or train or trains

ARC ID 282332, Locomotive “Sterling," 09/30/1901
States
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Ohio
  • Wisconsin

ARC ID 281743, … Subpoena for Superintendent of Pike County, Indiana ... , 07/11/1893
World War II
  • World War II or {World War, 1939-1945}
  • World War II and Registration Card
  • War Assets or surplus property

ARC ID 283329, World War II Selective Service System Registration Card for William Fred Abram, 04/25/1942

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The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001
Telephone: 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272