The State Archives of North Carolina, officially the North Carolina Division of Archives and Records, is a division of North Carolina state government responsible for collecting, preserving, and providing public access to historically significant archival materials relating to North Carolina, and responsible for providing guidance on the preservation and management of public government records to state, county, city and state university officials.

It collaborates with the State Library of North Carolina to manage the North Carolina Digital Repository, which provides long-term archival preservation for born-digital and digitized government and non-government records and materials.

[9][10] Originally composed of five gubernatorial appointees and given an annual budget of $500, the Historical Commission was asked to "collect, edit and publish valuable documents elucidating the history of the State.

1907 - Among other changes, an amendment to the original act charged the commission with new duties, including marking and preserving historic sites and encouraging the study of North Carolina history.

[12] 1935 - The General Assembly charged the commission with a new duty, to safeguard public records that no longer had "significance, importance, or value."

The law defined the powers and duties of the department, including the programs of the State Archives.

[4] In 1943, the General Assembly changed the name of the Historical Commission to the State Department of Archives and History.

[20] In 1865, North Carolina's copy of the United States Bill of Rights was stolen from the state Capitol building by a Union soldier in William Sherman's army, who took the document home to Tippecanoe, Ohio, as a souvenir of the war.

The soldier, whose name is unknown, sold the Bill of Rights to a Charles A. Shotwell of Troy, Ohio, for $5.00.

The State Archives also makes available online traditional finding aids with detailed information about collections.