National, State & Local
Newspaper Archives
There are excellent free historical resources for vintage newspaper articles in the United States. They cover a broad swath of U.S. history — from the 18th to the 21st century –and cover state, city, town, county, and regional newspapers. Headlines, articles, photos, display ads, classifieds…they’re all there for the taking.
Here are the U.S. archives I’ve come across so far, all free …
(see the menu on the left for more free links to international archives, magazines, college papers, foreign language newspapers, and other great resources).
National and Regional Collections
SmallTownPapers
This looks to be a growing collection that has sporadic coverage all over the US, with some (not many) issues dating back to the mid 1800′s. Limited text search function. (Update: this site’s getting a bit muddled, and less material seems to be for free..what a shame!)
Northwest History Database
Searchable collection of vintage newspaper clippings from the Pacific Northwest. Search on newspaper to see the clippings collection. The date range is very poorly described, but seems to be early 20th century.
New York Times Archives
The Times being a national newspaper, of sorts, I included it here. All archives from before 1923 and after 1986 are free of charge, and in-between those years there is a fee. This is one of the internet’s best archives.
HistoryBuff
A very small collection — just an archived page or two for any given year — but it manages to capture most of the major events of the past three centuries. The page images are very clear, especially the newspaper photographs. No text searching, but you can browse by date and event.
Chronicling America (Library of Congress)
This is both a good and frustrating collection. Good, for the diversity of sources,quality of images, and ease of the search interface. Frustrating, because there should be more from the nation’s leading library. Covers the years 1860-1922, and includes papers from about half the states, including California, District of Columbia, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. More are added regularly. A few important African-American papers are part of the collection here. The Library’s collection of high-resolution newspaper pages at Flickr is worth a look, but again…why such meager pickings?
NewspaperArchive
NewspaperArchive.com is an amazingly deep collection of vintage newspapers, and one of my favorite resources on the web. It’s not free (sorry!), but it’s well worth a look. They offer papers from just about every state in the U.S. as well as from other countries, including Canada, UK, Japan, Jamaica and elsewhere.
Ancestry.com
Ancestry.com is also an excellent source for historical research…fee-based, but well worth it. It includes a deep collection of newspaper archives as well as census documents, directories, books, immigration records, and much more.
A Book Worth Noting
Of note is this book about newspapers. The 1876 Centennial Newspaper Exhibition gives circulation details on every paper published in the US at that time.
State, County and City Papers
Alabama
Birmingham Iron Age, 1874-1901. A weekly newspaper from the very early days of this city. The collection is incomplete, but offers full text searching and full page images. Update: A few other newspapers have been added to this collection, provided by the Birmingham Public Library, including the Pratt City Herald.
At NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, you can find about ten additional Alabama newspaper archives covering most of the 20th century.
Assorted Birmingham, AL Newspaper Clippings from the Birmingham Public Library. Search on article descriptions; not clear which papers or date ranges are covered.
Alaska
The Tundra Times, 1965-1997 (Fairbanks). This is an odd archive, as it is a combination of article clippings and full page images. Still, it is (so far) the only free newspaper archive available from Alaska, courtesy of the Tuzzy Consortium Library.
At NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, you can find more than twenty other Alaska archives covering most of the 20th century.
Arizona
Casa Grande (near Phoenix) Newspaper Archives, 1912-2007, courtesy of the Casa Grande Public Library.
The Little Cowpuncher, 1934-1943. This is different! A mimeographed newspaper published by school children reflecting life in rural Arizona in a time when kids gave their teachers cow heads as a gift.
Arizona Digital Newspaper Program, 1850-1929. From the AZ State Library, 31 digitized newspapers from across the state, including The Tombstone Epitath, Arizona Miner, and the Flagstone Sun-Democrat.
NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, offers about 50 more AZ newspapers from the late 1800′s onwards.
Arkansas
The Journal-Advance (1869-1949), in Gentry (originally Orchard City) offers a detailed look at news from the Ozarks. The paper is also known as the Courier-Journal.
At NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, you can find over a dozen other Arkansas archives covering the late 19th and all of the 20th century.
============================================
California
This state’s growing archives collection needs a separate page.
You can find more than 100 additional California papers from the mid-1800′s onward at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service
============================================
———-
Looking for information on people. Try Intelius.
———-
Colorado
Colorado Newspaper Archives from 1859-1923. The Wild, Wild West!
You can find additional coverage from the 19th century onwards in about 20 CO papers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
Connecticut
Newspapers of Connecticut, 1821-1929. Civil War era collections including the Soldier’s Record and the Connecticut Fifth, from the CT state library, along with earlier and later materials.
The Hartford Courant, 1764-present, can be searched for free but there is a charge to retrieve articles.
NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, has additional Connecticut newspaper archives covering a large portion of the 20th century.
Delaware.
No free archives that I know of…please contact us if you know of any sources to include.
At NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, you can find several Delaware newspaper archives covering a large portion of the 19th century.
District of Columbia (Washington DC).
No free archives that I know of…please contact us if you know of any sources to include.
At NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, you can find several D.C. newspaper archives covering a large portion of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Florida
Florida Digital Newspaper Library archives, early 1800′s to current. There’s a lot here, though the collection is not well-described. Full text search and full image retrieval.
Boca Raton, FL newspaper archives, 1930′s-current, courtesy of the Boca Raton Historical Society.
Central Florida Memory Newspaper Clippings. Assorted digital files, including a mish-mash of a few thousand newspaper items. Includes 19th century Lochmede Winter Park newspaper.
You can find additional in-depth coverage of 20th-century Florida in about 20 papers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
Georgia
Georgia Historic Newspapers 1750 to 1925
The Southern Israelite (1929-1958, 1984-1986). Printed in Augusta and Atlanta, this newspaper is a reflection of the Jewish community during a time of Hitler, WWII, the Holocaust, and the formation of Israel. An important historical resource.
NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, offers additional GA coverage from the 1860′s onward in more than 20 GA newspapers.
New The Cherokee Phoenix, 1828-1834. Printed in New Echota, capital of the Cherokee Nation, in what is now Georgia, this was the first native American Indian newspaper. Browseable by date; the text search was not working when I tried it.
Hawaii
Hawaii Newspaper Archives (in Hawaiian) from the mid-1800′s to 1920′s. An assorted collection of full image newspapers, browseable, but not searchable.
Hawaiian Language Nupepa Collection, 1834-1948 More Hawaiian language newspapers, mostly in image format, but with some word searching.
You’ll find three additional HI papers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
Idaho
New Rigby Star, Fremont County, 1906-1975. Part of the Brigham Young University collection of influential Mormon publications. Use the PDF search box to find your terms after opening a page.
NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, offers more than a dozen other Idaho newspaper archives covering a large portion of the 19th and 20th centuries.
———-
Looking for information on people. Try Intelius.
———-
===========================================
Illinois
The state’s growing archives collection needs a separate page.
You can find hundreds of additional Illinois papers from the mid-1800′s onward at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
============================================
Indiana
Muncie Post Democrat Newspaper Collection at Ball State University, 1921-1950 Full text searching and full page PDFs. Not the friendliest interface, though.
Evansville Press, 1850-2012. A local clippings collection, searchable by title and keyword. Collection is not well-described, but includes a lot of material on the University of Indiana, especially basketball, especially Bobby Knight.
Vevay/Switzerland County Newspapers, 1840-1901. Scanned newspaper pages (no text search, no keywords) from the Switzerland Co. HS. Archives include The Vevay Times and Switzerland County Democrat, and The Vevay Reveille.
You can find additional Indiana newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
Iowa
There are lots of Iowa Archives for some reason.
Adams County, Iowa Newspaper Archives, 1876-2000
Cedar Rapids Library Newspaper Archives includes a number of Iowa newspapers, 1857-1998.
Charles City Daily Press, Floyd County, 1930-1931.
Sioux County Newspaper Archives, in Iowa, from 1872-2000.
The Des Moines Newspaper Archives, 1970-2007. Includes West Des Moines Express, Polk County News, and others.
The Malvern and Mills County Archives, 1864-2002. Includes the Malvern Leader, Mills County Journal, and others.
The Carroll Newspaper Archives, 1884-2007. The Carroll Daily Times Herald and other papers. Archives also include detailed early atlases of Carroll County.
The Buffalo Center Tribune, 1894-2003.
The Muscatine City Directories, 1856-1959. No newspapers here, but a terrific set of directories from the Musser Library…I had to put them somewhere!
You can find additional Iowa newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
Kansas
New Kansas Memory Digital Archives covers a smattering of 19th and early 20th century digital materials, including a few newspapers, which appear to include several hundred article clippings overall. Papers include the Wichita Eagle, Topeka Journal, Lawrence Daily Journal, and others.
At NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, you can find more than 100 additional Kansas newspaper archives covering the entire history of the territory and state.
Kentucky
The Kentuckiana Digital Library has newspaper archives from 1886-1912 for papers across Kentucky, from the Bluegrass Blade in Lexington to the Owensboro Vindicator. Full text searching, but an awkward interface.
New Northern Kentucky Newspaper Index, 1841-current. An odd mix of full image searchable newspapers, and newspaper indexes. Use the “full text” option to restrict results to images. Collection from the Kenton Library.
You can find additional Kentucky newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
Louisiana
Louisiana Newspaper Access Program, 19th and early 20th century. Part of the Louisiana Digital Library Collection, this is an interesting hodge-podge collection of English and French language news, with a not terribly friendly user interface.
New Orleans Bee, 1827-1923. From the Jefferson Parish Library, this English and French newspaper is a rich slice of history, but unfortunately, only browseable by date, with no text search offered.
New Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, and Harper’s Weekly Journal, late 19th century. Also from the Louisiana Digital Library Collection, these appear to be images only.
You can find additional Louisiana newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
Maine.
No free archives that I know of…please contact us if you know of any sources to include.
At NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, you can find about ten Maine newspaper archives covering a large portion of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Maryland
The Marlyland State Archives have several newspapers online, mostly from the 1800′s, though a few spill into early 1900′s and one has issues from 1965. These are digitized directly from microfilm, and can be browsed by date, but not searched.
NewspaperArchive
Even with all the free resources available, I still find this collection to be the most valuable resource available for researching history. I’ve been a subscriber for years. Take a look: NewspaperArchive.
Massachusetts
Barnstable, MA, on Cape Cod, has the Barnstable Patriot from 1830-1930, the Hyannis Patriot, and the Sandwich Observer, all with full text searching, courtesy of the Sturgis Library.
Provincetown Banner and The Advocate, 1918 and 1931-67 (but missing 1935). Full text searching, and full image retrieval.
Diario de Noticias/Alvaro Diaria, 1919-1973 (in Portugese). From the Claire T. Carney Library at UMass, an important resource for the Portugese-American community in New Bedford, with a rather complex search interface.
Cape Cod and Chatham Newpaper Archives, 1871-2008. An intermittent collection courtesy of the Eldredge Public Library and Microsearch Corp.
At NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, you can find more than twenty other Massachusetts newspaper archives covering the 18th to the 21st century.
Michigan
The Saugatuck-Douglas Library in Michigan has digitized the Commercial Record, 1868-1959. Keyword searching available, for this lumber and shipping community on Lake Michigan.
New Cass City Chronicle and The Enterprise, from the late 1800′s forward, courtesy of the Rawson Memorial Library, with text searching.
New Otsego County archives of assorted unnamed papers, 1903-2009.
You can find additional Michigan newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
———-
Looking for information on people. Try Intelius.
———-
Minnesota
Holt Weekly News and Northern Light, 1911-1952. From the “Home of the Largest Co-operative Creamery in Marshall County” a terrific rural newspaper archive. NOTE…site was down at last check, hopefully only temporarily.
The Winona State University Newspaper Archives include several area papers from 1855-1960.
You can find additional Minnesota newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
New. Minneapolis Labor Review, 1907-2006. Interesting resource, but man, is this site slow to load!
———-
Ancestry.com is an excellent source for historical research…fee-based, but well worth it.
———-
Mississippi
No free archives that I know of…please contact us if you know of any sources to include.
At NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, you can find more than ten Mississippi newspaper archives covering a portion of the 20th century.
Missouri
Missouri Newspaper Archives, 1840s-1985. Search about 20 assorted commercial and student newspapers.
Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune, 1889-2008. A substantial archive of essentially two newspapers that eventually merged into one.
You can find additional Missouri newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
Montana
The Chronicling America collection at the Library of Congress includes a smattering of late-1800′s Montana papers, including the Anacondia Standard and the Daily Yellowstone Journal.
At NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, you can find more than twenty Montana newspaper archives covering a large portion of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Nebraska
The Ord Quiz, 1895-1980. This central Nebraska newspaper archive is only browseable by date, but once you open a PDF newspaper, you can text search the content.
Nebraska Newspapers, 1874-1914, from University of Nebraska, Lincoln, offers browseable-by-date and text-searchable newspapers from Lincoln, Omaha, Norfolk, Valentine, Broken Bow, and other towns.
You can find additional Nebrask newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
Nevada
Las Vegas Age newspaper archives in Nevada, 1905-1924, with some gaps in coverage. Searching is on keywords rather than full text.
The Henderson Libraries Digital Collection includes two newspapers dating back to the 1940′s and 1950′s. The Henderson Home News (1951-current) and The Big Job, and Basic Bombardier newsletters, 1940s, from the BMI magnesium plant in Henderson, NV during WWII. The plant made millions (billions?) of tracer bullets for the war effort.
New The clumsily-named Cooperative Libraries Automated Network Digital Collections has several newspapers from the late 1800s to early 1900s, including Reese River Reveille, Daily Territorial Enterprise, White Pine News, and the Virgnia Evening Chronicle.
You can find additional Nevada newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire Gazette, the first newspaper printed in New Hampshire. Only one 4-page newspaper is here, but it’s a reproduction of the original from 1756, and worth a look.
You can find additional New Hampshire newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
============================================
New Jersey
This state’s growing archives collection needs a separate page.
You can find additional New Jersey papers from the mid-1800′s onward at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
============================================
New Mexico.
No free archives that I know of…please contact us if you know of any sources to include.
At NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, you can find more than fifty New Mexico newspaper archives covering a large portion of the 19th and 20th centuries.
============================================
New York
This state’s growing archives collection needs a separate page.
You can find additional New York papers from 1797 onward at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
============================================
North Carolina
The North Carolina Newspaper Digitization Project, 1751-1898. A smattering of newspapers from assorted periods in NC history, and from several places, including Edenton, Fayetteville, Hillsboro, New Bern, Salisbury and Wilmington. Page images are keyword searchable.
You can find additional North Carolina newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
North Dakota
Frontier Scout, North Dakota’s first newspaper, 1864-65. About 20 issues are available online in full image format, but they are not searchable.
You can find additional North Dakota newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
Ohio
Cleveland Press, 1878-1982. Digitized article clippings, with full text search. Incredibly, many of the articles do not show the date!
Ohio Memory houses a wide variety of digitized content including two newspapers: the weekly Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1922-1994, and the Amherst News Times, from (roughly) 1919-modern times…the newspaper content at the archive is not well-described.
At NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, you can find more than 200 (!) newspaper archives covering the 19th and 20th centuries.
Oklahoma
The Oklahoman, 1901-current. This is a fee-based archive, but I listed it anyway, since there are no free resources I know of.
You can find additional Oklahoma newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
Oregon
New Historic Oregon Newspapers, 1846-1922. Archives done right! A growing collection of papers around the state, with full text search, fast and clear page previews, highlighted search results, PDF downloads and the ability to open a text version of a newspaper page. Kudos to the University of Oregon for a job well done.
You can find additional Oregon newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, PA Jewish Newspaper Project, 1895-Present. Includes three publications.
Philadelphia Inquirer Civil War Archive, from a Northern perspective, 1860-1865
Lancaster County, PA Newspaper Archives, 1816-1889, and 1915-2001. Several newspapers online, including the curiously-named Columbia Spy.
Penn State Newspaper Archives, offers several papers in their Civil War collection, along with archives of student newspapers, and clippings from Lancaster Farming from the 1950′s onward.
Access Pennsylvania Digital Archive, includes the Nazareth Item (1891-1975) and the new Holland Clarion in Lancaster County (1873-1950), along with many other digitized archives from Wilkes-Barre and elsewhere. Good collection, but not well-described or user friendly.
Pennsylvania Civil War Newspaper Archives, 1831-1877. Assorted papers from this critical period in US history; includes eight papers from Gettysburgh. Full page images and full text search.
The Chester, PA newspaper archives, 1876-1976, including the Chester Times, Delaware County Daily Times, and others. From the Delaware County Library.
Ambler Gazette, 1894-1931. From the Wissahickon Valley Public Library in Montgomery County, a cumbersome archive (sorry!) browseable by date.
You can find additional Pennsylvania newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
Rhode Island.
No free archives that I know of…please contact us if you know of any sources to include.
At NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, you can find several Rhode Island newspaper archives covering a portion of the 19th and 20th centuries.
South Carolina
The New South newspaper archives, 1862-1866, published in Port Royal and Beaufort, during the Civil War. Archive is full-text searchable.
You can find additional South Carolina newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
New. The South Carolina Digital Library features several newspapers, mostly 19th century, including the estimable Pee Dee Times. Don’t ask why, but 20th century papers are a separate link.
———-
Looking for information on people. Try Intelius.
———-
South Dakota.
No free archives that I know of…please contact us if you know of any sources to include.
At NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, you can find almost twenty South Dakota newspaper archives covering a large portion of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Tennessee
The TN State Archives offers free access to the Infotrac database of 19th century newspapers, including Civil War era papers from Nashville, Chatanooga and Memphis. There’s a catch…access is for Tennessee residents only (or at least for anyone providing a Tennessee zip code and phone number).
At NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, you can find additional Tennessee newspaper archives covering a portion of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Texas
San Antonio Light and the Daily Light, 1883-1886.
The Weimar Mercury, and other area papers, 1885-1960, from the collection of the Nesbitt Memorial Library.
The Wellington Leader, 1909-2006, from the Collingsworth Public Library.
Archives of the La Marque Times, 1970-1998.
The Portal to Texas History offers a large rambling collection of newspapers and other digital archives with full text search. Seems to have good coverage of 19th and 20th century material. Select Newspapers (duh!) to limit your search and click More under Collections to get an idea of what’s available.
New Houston Chronicle, 1985-present. Articles are displayed in web-page format.
You can find additional Texas newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
Utah
Utah Digital Newspapers Collection, varied papers, approx 1850s-1950s
Utah newspapers from the Mormon school, Brigham Young University. Dates and collections are not well described, but look to be mostly 19th century; papers include Daily Enquirer, Deseret News, and the Rigby Star. Click on Newspapers in the Collections by Format box.
You can find additional Utah newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
Vermont.
No free archives that I know of…please contact us if you know of any sources to include.
At NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, you can find archives for the Bennington Banner, covering a portion of the 20th century.
Virginia
Richmond Then and Now, 1860-1989. A small collection of articles covering the history of this storied city. Text-only.
Virginia Gazette, 1736-1780. An important 18th century resource from the Revolutionary War era, users can browse by date or search articles by a master index.
Richmond Daily Dispatch, 1860-1865. Another smallish collection, covering the Civil War (or the War Between the States) from a Confederate perspective.
You can find additional Virginia newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
Washington
Washington State Newspaper Archives, approx. 1850-1890′s. Numerous papers from around the state, including Spokane, Seattle, and Puget Sound.
Port Townsend Morning Leader, 1903-1910. Select Port Towsend Leader from the Collections list to search just the newspaper.
Walla Wallop, 1944-1946. From the Walla Walla Army Air Base (before there was a USAF), the official WWII base newspaper. Nice collection.
You can find additional Washington newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Newpaper Archives, mostly from the period 1860-1940, thousands of searchable newspaper clippings.
You can find additional Wisconsin newspapers at NewspaperArchive, a subscription service.
Ancestry.com is an excellent source for historical research…fee-based, but well worth it.
Wyoming
Wyoming Newspaper Project, 1867-1930. Lots of papers here from Cheyenne, Cody, Casper, and across the state. The images I viewed were surprisingly sharp and clear.
Yellowstone National Park Newspaper, 2001-current. The official park newspaper published by the National Park Service. Not particularly historical, but unusual enough that I thought I’d include it. Browseable PDFs, but no text searching.
At NewspaperArchive, a subscription service, you can find more than 30 additional Wyoming newspaper archives covering the late 1800s through the present day.
And some other archives to note:
New Jewish News Archives, 1923-2008. From JTA, the Jewish news service, comes some of the earliest press reports about Adolph Hitler, the rise of Naziism, the Holocaust and roots of the Palestine-Israel conflict. Articles are text-only.
Early America, 1750-1790. Only three pages on view here, one of them from Ben Franklin’s Gazette.
The Stars and Stripes from WWI, 1918-1919. Here’s a look at one of the seminal events of modern history. The American Soldier’s newspaper of World War I.
Chronicling America, 1900-1910, the Library of Congress’ small but growing collection of assorted newspapers.
Genealogy Images of History. This is a link to an odd commercial site…basically someone’s personal collection of old newspapers. But it’s well indexed, for looking up people and place names, in case you want to purchase the page with that name.
GenealogyBank. Worth noting, even though it’s a subscription site. Deep collection, with newspapers and other assorted records going back to the late 1600′s. Searching is free, and will pull up a snippet, but…naturally…you’ll have to subscribe to see the full page images.
The Labor Press Project Includes numerous examples of labor and socialist publications with titles like The Agitator. Not searchable, and not a deep resource, but there are many items here not available elsewhere. Site has a Pacific NW focus, and mostly early 20th century.
FreeNewspaperArchives.us is another compilation of free newspaper archives, focusing on US papers, and organized on a region-by-region basis.
———-
Looking for information on people. Try Intelius.
———-
