Using Newspapers, Gazettes, and Broadsheets for Research
Historical newspapers are real-time records of daily life — they capture events, opinions, advertisements, and local news as they happened. For researchers, they are among the most valuable primary sources available.
What You Can Find in Old Newspapers
Crime Reports
Robberies, thefts, assaults — often with names, locations, and descriptions of stolen property
Shipping News
Arrivals, departures, cargo manifests, and shipwreck reports
Legal Notices
Property sales, estate settlements, mining claims, and unclaimed property
Local Events
Fires, floods, building construction, business openings and closings
Obituaries
Death dates, family members, occupation, and sometimes wealth or property holdings
Advertisements
Business locations, services offered, prices — a window into the local economy
Major Newspaper Archives
Chronicling America
chroniclingamerica.loc.gov
Free. Library of Congress. 1770–1963.
Newspapers.com
newspapers.com
Largest commercial archive. Wider coverage and better OCR.
British Newspaper Archive
britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
40+ million pages of British newspapers. 1700s–2000s.
Google News Archive
news.google.com/newspapers
Free but limited. Some digitized newspapers with full text.
State Historical Societies
Many states have their own digitized newspaper projects.
Integrate Newspaper Research Into Your Method
The Treasure Hunter's Research Guide shows you how to efficiently search newspaper archives and cross-reference findings with other primary sources.
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