Screenshot from the video “Preparing Foods that were Eaten by our Ancestors” which included women discussing their cooking.
29 oral histories collected in the early 2000s by the African American Historical and Genealogical Association of Surry County are now online thanks to our partner the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History. Thanks also to our colleagues in the Southern Folklife Collection, these audiovisual materials were digitized utilizing funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The interviews are mostly on video and discuss many topics about being Black and growing up in Mount Airy and Surry County area during the first half of the 20th century.
We also scanned many maps and architectural drawings for the museum in this batch and those are available here. The drawings include a lot of buildings around Mount Airy.
To learn more about our partner Mount Airy Museum of Regional History visit their partner page here.
To hear more oral histories on DigitalNC, go here.
Scrapbooks and other historic materials from the Northwestern Regional Library system are now available on DigitalNC. The online resources include:
The photographs, clippings, and stories contained in the scrapbooks give us a fascinating glimpse into small-town life in northern North Carolina in the middle of the 20th century.
This week we have the final 35 newspaper titles for this project up on DigitalNC! Over the past 11 months we have uploaded over 2.4 million pages of North Carolina newspapers – bringing our total number of newspaper pages on DigitalNC to 4,175,076 and our total number of titles on DigitalNC to 1,161 – all freely available to anyone! In this closing batch we have our first paper from Bower, North Carolina (which you may know as Clemmons today) and an article in the Union Republican about Stokes County’s would be Wright brother: Jacob A. Hill.
Jacob Hill, Winston-Salem Journal, March 9, 1902
Before Orville and Wilbur’s iconic first flight in 1903, the race to create a manned flying machine was fiercely competitive. One of the contenders was a man from Vade Mecum Springs named Jacob Hill. Hill was born 1862 in Davie County and had been fascinated by the flight of birds ever since he was a child. In 1901 he decided to take that curiosity a little further and solve “the problem of aerial navigation” by building his own dirigible.
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Union Republican, March 14, 1901
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Danbury Reporter, December 5, 1923
Mr. Hill’s machine could have been the first piloted aircraft, but we’ll never know for sure if it could actually fly and be controlled. Momentum ran out when Hill couldn’t secure funding for his invention. According to Thomas Parramore’s First to Fly, witnesses claimed the craft could get off the ground, but couldn’t do much more than hover in place. Even though Hill’s airship became something of a local joke for a time, the legacy of his wild aspirations continues to live on in North Carolina history.
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Danbury Reporter, December 15, 1904
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Business Guide, February 16, 1906
Over the past year, we’ve added millions of newspaper images to DigitalNC. These images were originally digitized a number of years ago in a partnership with Newspapers.com. That project focused on scanning microfilmed papers published before 1923 held by the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Special Collections Library. While you can currently search all of those pre-1923 issues on Newspapers.com, we have made them available in our newspaper database as well. This will allow you to search that content alongside the 2 million pages already on our site – all completely open access and free to use.
This week’s additions include:
Belhaven
Bower
Charlotte
Greensboro
Kings Mountain
Kinston
Lenoir
Monroe
Mt. Airy
New Bern
- The Republic and Courier (New Bern, N.C.) – 1872-1874
- The True Republican, and Newbern Weekly Advertiser (New Bern, N.C.) – 1810-1811
- The Morning Herald (New Bern, N.C.) – 1807-1808
- Newbern Herald (New Bern, N.C.) – 1809-1810
- The North Carolina Circular, and Newbern Weekly Advertiser (New Bern, N.C.) – 1803-1805
- The Daily Herald (New Bern, N.C.) – 1868
- The Republican & Courier (New Bern, N.C.) – 1871
- Newbern Enquirer (New Bern, N.C.) – 1860
- The Daily Journal (New Bern, N.C.) – 1894
- New Berne Daily Journal (New Bern, N.C.) – 1894-1895
Salem
Salisbury
Shelby
Statesville
Swan Quarter
Taylorsville
Warrenton
Winston
Winston-Salem
If you want to see all of the newspapers we have available on DigitalNC, you can find them here. Thanks to UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries for permission to and support for adding all of this content as well as the content to come. We also thank the North Caroliniana Society for providing funding to support staff working on this project.
This week we have another 34 titles up on DigitalNC! In this batch we have an article from the Durham Tobacco Plant describing the construction of a new factory being built by W. Duke, Sons & Co., which contained a machine that would revolutionize their tobacco business: The Bonsack machine.
Durham Tobacco Plant, July 16, 1884
In 1881, Virginia native James Bonsack created the first industrial cigarette rolling machine, a task that was done meticulously by hand up until this point. Bonsack partnered with W. Duke, Sons & Co. in 1884 and supplied them with one of his machines that could roll 250,000 cigarettes in a single day, the equivalent of 48 employees. While this acquisition would make the Dukes the leading cigarette producer in the country, the automation of the process forced many skilled rollers out of work.
W. Duke, Sons & Co. 1884 factory. Image via opendurham.org
Over the next year, we’ll be adding millions of newspaper images to DigitalNC. These images were originally digitized a number of years ago in a partnership with Newspapers.com. That project focused on scanning microfilmed papers published before 1923 held by the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Special Collections Library. While you can currently search all of those pre-1923 issues on Newspapers.com, over the next year we will also make them available in our newspaper database as well. This will allow you to search that content alongside the 2 million pages already on our site – all completely open access and free to use.
This week’s additions include:
- The North Carolinian (Elizabeth City, N.C.) – 1869-1903
- The Yadkin Valley News (Mt. Airy, N.C.) – 1880-1895
- The Index (Wilkesboro, N.C.) – 1880-1881
- The News Reporter (Whiteville, N.C.) – 1912-1924
- The Montgomery Vidette (Troy, N.C.) – 1886-1891
- The Southern Vidette (Norwood, N.C.) – 1891-1892
- Carter’s Weekly (North Wilkesboro, N.C.) – 1920-1922
- The Alexander County Journal (Taylorsville, N.C.) – 1887-1888
- Washington Progress (Washington, N.C.) – 1892-1913
- The Chronicle (Wilkesboro, N.C.) – 1890-1911
- The Wilson Mirror (Wilson, N.C.) – 1887-1894
- Windsor Public Ledger (Windsor, N.C.) – 1887-1889
- Windsor Ledger (Windsor, N.C.) – 1889-1915
- The Daily Southerner (Tarboro, N.C.) – 1889-1922
- The Carolina Mountaineer and Waynesville Courier (Waynesville, N.C.) – 1917-1923
- Raleigh Christian Advocate (Raleigh, N.C.) – 1914
- The Elizabeth-City Star (Elizabeth City, N.C.) – 1822-1824
- The Elizabeth-City Star and North-Carolina Eastern Intelligencer (Elizabeth City, N.C.) – 1825-1833
- The North-Carolinian (Fayetteville, N.C.) – 1839-1864
- The Greensboro Patriot (Greensboro, N.C.) – 1888
- Durham Tobacco Plant (Durham, N.C.) – 1872-1885
- The Enquirer (Tarboro, N.C.) – 1871-1873
- The Times (Greensboro, N.C.) – 1856-1861
- Halifax Compiler (Halifax, N.C.) – 1818
- Halifax Minerva (Halifax, N.C.) – 1829-1830
- The Edenton Gazette, and North-Carolina Advertiser (Edenton, N.C.) – 1806-1809
- The Edenton Gazette (Edenton, N.C.) – 1809-1813
- The Edenton Gazette, and North-Carolina General Advertiser (Edenton, N.C.) – 1814-1822
- Edenton Gazette (Edenton, N.C.) – 1827-1831
- The N.C. Republican, and Civil Rights Advocate (Weldon, N.C.) – 1884
- The Weldon Patriot (Weldon, N.C.) – 1852-1859
- Railroad Ticket (Weldon, N.C.) – 1881
- The Semi-Weekly State (Weldon, N.C.) – 1867
- Webster’s Weekly (Reidsville, N.C.) – 1881-1916
If you want to see all of the newspapers we have available on DigitalNC, you can find them here. Thanks to UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries for permission to and support for adding all of this content as well as the content to come. We also thank the North Caroliniana Society for providing funding to support staff working on this project.
This week we have another 60 titles from all over the state up on DigitalNC, including a little piece of North Carolina railroad history!
On the second page of the January 15th, 1833 issue of the Fayetteville Observer, you’ll find a list of all the legislation enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly during the 1832-1833 session. One of these acts is the incorporation of the company that built North Carolina’s first functional railroad: The Experimental Rail Road Company of Raleigh.
Fayetteville Observer, January 15, 1833
The one and one-quarter mile rail line extended from the Capitol Building, which had burned in 1831, to a quarry just east of Raleigh. When the horse-drawn rail carts weren’t transporting the stone used to rebuild the Capitol, people could ride the line in “pleasure cars” for a 25 cent fare. The line cost $2,700 to construct, which would be roughly $91,000 in 2022.
Over the next year, we’ll be adding millions of newspaper images to DigitalNC. These images were originally digitized a number of years ago in a partnership with Newspapers.com. That project focused on scanning microfilmed papers published before 1923 held by the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Special Collections Library. While you can currently search all of those pre-1923 issues on Newspapers.com, over the next year we will also make them available in our newspaper database as well. This will allow you to search that content alongside the 2 million pages already on our site – all completely open access and free to use.
This week’s additions include:
- The North Carolina Prohibitionist (Bush Hill, N.C.) – 1886-1888
- The Progress (Enfield, N.C.) – 1908-1922
- The North-Carolina Journal (Halifax, N.C.) – 1792-1810
- The News Reporter (Littleton, N.C.) – 1897-1923
- The Franklin Courier (Louisburg, N.C.) – 1872-1874
- The Madison Enterprise (Madison, N.C.) – 1873-1874
- The Monroe Journal (Monroe, N.C.) – 1923
- The Iredell Gazette (Mooresville, N.C.) – 1880
- The Morganton Herald (Morganton, N.C.) – 1891-1901
- Surry Visitor (Mount Airy, N.C.) – 1874-1876
- Cherokee Herald (Murphy, N.C.) – 1874-1876
- Person County Courier (Roxboro, N.C.) – 1890-1892
- North Carolina Argus (Wadesboro, N.C.) – 1848-1876
- Mecklenburg Times (Charlotte, N.C.) – 1889-1897
- The North Carolina Whig (Charlotte, N.C.) – 1863
- King’s Dollar Daily (Greenville, N.C.) – 1904
- King’s Weekly (Greenville, N.C.) – 1894-1909
- McDowell Democrat (Marion, N.C.) – 1905-1909
- Marion Progress (Marion, N.C.) – 1909-1922
- The Stanly Banner (Albemarle, N.C.) – 1876
- The Stanly Observer (Albemarle, N.C.) – 1884
- The Stanly News (Albemarle, N.C.) – 1892-1893
- The Caldwell Messenger (Lenoir, N.C.) – 1875-1876
- The Semi-Weekly News (Lenoir, N.C.) – 1900
- The Weekly News (Lenoir, N.C.) – 1900-1902
- The Magnolia Monitor (Magnolia, N.C.) – 1873-1876
- The Duplin Record (Magnolia, N.C.) – 1874-1875
- The Weekly Record (Magnolia, N.C.) – 1876-1877
- The Central (Lexington, N.C.) – 1876
- Lexington and Yadkin Flag (Lexington, N.C.) – 1855-1856
- The Lexington Herald (Lexington, N.C.) – 1915-1917
- The North State (Lexington, N.C.) – 1904-1908
- Murfreesboro Enquirer (Murfreesboro, N.C.) – 1876-1878
- The Albemarle Enquirer (Murfreesboro, N.C.) – 1878-1881
- The Hornets’ Nest (Murfreesboro, N.C.) – 1812-1813
- Carolina Chronicle (Murfreesboro, N.C.) – 1827
- Milton Intelligencer (Milton, N.C.) – 1819
- Milton Spectator (Milton, N.C.) – 1832-1839
- The Milton Chronicle (Milton, N.C.) – 1841-1888
- Milton Gazette & Roanoke Advertiser (Milton, N.C.) – 1824-1831
- The Milton Spectator (Milton, N.C.) – 1854
- The Lincoln Democrat (Lincolnton, N.C.) – 1895-1896
- The Lincoln Journal (Lincolnton, N.C.) – 1898-1901
- The Lincoln Courier (Lincolnton, N.C.) – 1891
- Lincoln Transcript (Lincolnton, N.C.) – 1836
- The Western Whig Banner (Lincolnton, N.C.) – 1840
- Lincoln Progress (Lincolnton, N.C.) – 1873-1882
- Economist (Elizabeth City, N.C.) – 1903
- The Weekly Economist (Elizabeth City, N.C.) – 1903-1905
- Daily Economist (Elizabeth City, N.C.) – 1905-1907
- North Carolina Advocate (Elizabeth City, N.C.) – 1833
- The Intelligencer, and Nag’s Head Advocate (Elizabeth City, N.C.) – 1840-1841
- The Elizabeth-City Gazette, and Public Advertiser (Elizabeth City, N.C.) – 1808
- Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.) – 1833
- The Public Spirit (Fayetteville, N.C.) – 1876
- The News (Fayetteville, N.C.) – 1865
- The Fayetteville Daily News (Fayetteville, N.C.) – 1865
- The Weekly Courier (Fayetteville, N.C.) – 1860
- Fayetteville Examiner (Fayetteville, N.C.) – 1880-1883
- Daily Telegraph (Fayetteville, N.C.) – 1865
If you want to see all of the newspapers we have available on DigitalNC, you can find them here. Thanks to UNC-Chapel Hill Libraries for permission to and support for adding all of this content as well as the content to come. We also thank the North Caroliniana Society for providing funding to support staff working on this project.
The following microfilmed newspapers were selected for digitization in 2017-2018. Thanks to supplemental funding from the State Library of North Carolina, we were able to complete more reels than in previous years. Reels were chosen from nominations according to our Criteria for Selecting Newspapers to Digitize from Microfilm.
Title |
Years |
Nominating Institution |
Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.) |
1927-1947 |
Alamance County Public Libraries |
Carolina Indian Voice (Pembroke, N.C.) |
1977-1995 |
UNC Chapel Hill |
Carteret County News-Times (Morehead City, N.C.) |
1948-1960 |
Carteret County Public Library |
Charlotte Post |
1971-1987 |
Johnson C. Smith University |
The Cherokee Scout (Murphy, N.C.) |
1944-1988 |
Murphy Public Library |
Duplin Times (Warsaw, N.C.) |
1962-1985 |
Duplin County Library |
Enterprise (Williamston, N.C.) |
1934-1942 |
Martin Memorial Library |
Farmville Enterprise |
1942-1947 |
Farmville Public Library |
Franklin Press and the Highlands Maconian (Franklin, N.C.) |
1943-1960 |
Fontana Regional Library |
The Franklin Times (Louisburg, N.C.) |
1925-1944; 1963-1969 |
Louisburg College |
Hertford County Herald (Ahoskie, N.C.) |
1914-1923 |
Chowan University |
Journal-Patriot (North Wilkesboro, N.C.) |
1947-1950 |
Wilkes County Public Library |
Mount Airy News |
1917-1929 |
Surry Community College |
News-Record (Marshall, N.C.) |
1976-1988 |
Madison County Public Library |
Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.) |
1944-1989 |
Perquimans County Library |
Pilot (Southern Pines, N.C.) |
1948-1965 |
Southern Pines Public Library |
The Roxboro Courier (Roxboro, N.C.) |
1927-1935 |
Person County Public Library |
Smithfield Herald |
1901-1911 |
Johnston County Heritage Center |
Transylvania Times (Brevard, N.C.) |
1933-1940 |
Transylvania County Library |
Watauga Democrat (Boone, N.C.) |
1950-1963 |
Watauga County Public Library |
Waynesville Mountaineer |
1952-1956 |
Haywood County Public Library |
Winston-Salem Chronicle |
1997-2016 |
Forsyth County Public Library |
Photo of a school dance, from the Yadkinian Yearbook, 1964
Just a quick post to let you know that we’ve added 5 more items from Yadkin and Surry Counties, courtesy two members of the Northwestern Regional Library System, Yadkin County Public Library and King Public Library.
as well as
This brings us to more than 100 yearbooks from the Northwestern Regional Library System.
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