America's Historical Newspapers are here!

"The first shock of the Earthquake on the 29th past was here much as it was in Boston, or perhaps a little stronger." And so starts the article about Hampton, New Hampshire from the Boston News-Letter, November 16, 1727. This little gem, and thousands of others from around the country, can be found in our newest database called "America's Historical Newspapers," which includes newspapers from the colonial era through 1922. With these newspapers, we found out that Goody Cole isn't just a local name. She was mentioned in a newspaper as far away as Duluth, Minnesota in 1905.

As the first draft of history, newspapers have preserved detailed records of topics, people, issues and events for hundreds of years. American newspapers in the 1800s were often published by small-town printers and reflected the interests and values of the communities they served. In the 19th century, the number of titles in the nation rose dramatically, and newspapers were transformed by an increasing emphasis on society, industry, scientific advances, investigative journalism and human-interest stories. By the early 20th century, nearly every town in the United States had its own newspaper. Now you can see scanned articles and full pages of the papers, narrow your search by time period and geography, and even search French- and German-language newspapers.

This database is invaluable to anyone doing genealogical and historical research. And for the rest of us, it's just plain fun to browse. Check it out today at our website http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us under the "databases" heading. Questions? Call 926-3368.