The Alabama Department of Archives and History is the official repository of archival records for the U.S. state of Alabama. Under the direction of Thomas M. Owen its founder, the agency received state funding by an act of the Alabama Legislature on February 27, 1901. Its primary mission is the collecting and preserving of archives, documents and artifacts relating to the history of the state. It was the first publicly funded, independent state archives agency in the United States. It subsequently became a model for the establishment of archives in other states. Today the agency identifies, preserves, and makes accessible records and artifacts significant to the history of the state and serves as the official repository for records created by Alabama's state agencies.

Thomas McAdory Owen was an American lawyer, archivist, historian, and founder of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, serving as its first director. Owen was the author of a large and noted four-volume work, History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, and numerous other historical works. Through his lobbying efforts Owen was instrumental at obtaining the needed support and state funding for the Alabama Historical Society and other archival and historical institutions in the state.