The Olivia Raney Local History Library in Raleigh has contributed three new tax books from 1891, 1895, and 1898 that are now available on DigitalNC! The Olivia Raney Library specializes in materials that facilitate local history and genealogy research, and holds an extensive collection of Wake County tax records. These books are valuable resources for anyone seeking to research specific individuals or property ownership statistics in Raleigh at the turn of the century. We are excited that they are now available digitally for researchers to peruse from anywhere.
Our digital collections include nearly 200 records from Olivia Raney, including yearbooks, scrapbooks, newspapers, and catalogs. Browse all of our Olivia Raney Local History Library materials on their partner page here, and visit their website here.
A trove of catalogs, magazines, newspapers, and bulletins from North Carolina Wesleyan University has just been uploaded to DigitalNC! NC Wesleyan is a private Methodist university located in Rocky Mount, N.C. that has been operating since 1956. These documents start in 1960 and document the university’s progression and growth over the last six decades and into the present. Researchers can see an abundance of information on NC Wesleyan alumni, faculty and staff, course offerings, sports and events, and more.
See all digitized issues of the NC Wesleyan student newspaper The Decree here. Visitors to the site can also view all of our materials from NC Wesleyan at their contributor page here, and visit their website to learn more.
Our partners at the Graham Historical Museum have contributed a new bound volume of 1924 maps of Burlington and the surrounding areas. These were created by the Sanborn Insurance Company, which produced massive numbers of maps to assess buildings for fire risk from 1867 to 1970. They depict building features in great detail, sometimes even by room. Sanborn often surveyed the same places multiple times, making their maps an incredibly helpful resource for tracking changes over time in cities and specific buildings.
This latest batch depicts Burlington, North Carolina and surrounding areas of Altamahaw, Glen Raven, Bellemont, Hopedale, Elon College, Ossipee, Glencoe, and Saxapahaw. The volume contains an index of streets and significant buildings, general information on population and economic activity, and specific information pertaining to fire insurance assessment. If you are a music lover, the Saxapahaw map may be of particular interest. Like most towns in Alamance County, Saxapahaw’s economy was based on textile production and most residents worked at the cotton mill. The cotton mill closed in 1994 and was eventually converted into apartments overlooking the Haw River. The adjacent former dye house is now the Haw River Ballroom, a state of the art music venue that hosts touring acts from around the country and the world.
A deindustrialization success story, Saxapahaw has undergone transformational changes since this map was published 100 years ago. Researchers can see how it and other Alamance County communities have evolved since 1924 by viewing the map here. More digitized Sanborn maps are available on DigitalNC, as well as through UNC Libraries. See all of our collections from the Graham Historical Museum at their contributor page and learn more by visiting their website.
New issues from thirteen newspaper titles have been added to DigitalNC, thanks to The North Carolina Collection at UNC Chapel Hill. These date from the late 19th century and fill in gaps in our digital newspaper collections. Issues from Our Home, The Daily Record, The Morning Herald, and The Western Herald are the first of these titles on the site.
Below is a list of titles, their cities of publication, and the years from which the issues date.
Henderson Gold Leaf (Henderson, N.C.) – May 25, 1899
The Wilmington Messenger (Wilmington, N.C.) – Nov. 18, 1898
We at NCDHC are excited to announce our latest batch of materials contributed by Braswell Memorial Library in Rocky Mount, N.C. This addition is mainly comprised of booklets from the Virginia Dare Book Club dating from 1934 to 1969. Booklets include lists of members and officers as well as scheduled events for the year. Many of these booklets are crafted into shapes including roses, butterflies, and the outline of North Carolina, showcasing members’ artistic talent and dedication to the club.
This collection also includes ten years of Bailey High School student newspapers from 1925-1935. Additionally, we have uploaded 1924-1929 commencement programs and a 1949 Future Farmers of America newsletter from Bailey High School, additional yearbooks for Spring Hope and Southern Nash High Schools, as well as a list of rules and regulations from the Wesley Privette Memorial Library in Bailey, N.C. See these records and all of our digitized materials from Braswell Memorial Library here.
1,691 issues of The Asheville-Gazette Newsare now available on the site, thanks to our partners at Buncombe County Public Libraries. This paper was published daily and is an incredibly rich resource for information on life in early 1900s Asheville. 1904-1909 were years of rapid growth, as Asheville grew from a small mountain town to a major hub for the region. The arrival of railroads in the 1880s transformed Asheville into a popular resort town for travelers seeking the healthful mountain air and beautiful landscapes. Just a few years before these issues were published, George W. Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate was completed as the largest private residence in the United States, cementing the city as both a tourist destination and a desirable place to live. While trains and electric cars still reigned as the main method of transportation, these newspapers show the advent of the automobile and its early adoption by some residents.
Making the case.
One of many railway company advertisements.
The city was growing in population, commerce, and technological advancement. Asheville in the early 1900s was maturing into a real urban center, with 14,000 permanent residents in 1901. As such, the issues in these newspapers are concerned with matters ranging from hyper-local to international. Readers could see which of their neighbors was traveling and to where, and on the next page get the latest updates on the 1905 Russian Revolution. Elections, both regional and national, were covered in The Asheville-Gazette News. Advertisements reveal the many businesses operating in town and speak to the needs and interests of residents, including many promoting various elixirs and compounds for healing illness. The content in these newspapers is wide-ranging and reveals a great deal about the history of Western North Carolina and its place in the world.
Local issues of the day.
An early incidence of coal mining and labor conflict.
Researchers can view all of The Asheville-Gazette News issues on DigitalNC here. See all of the materials contributed by Buncombe County Public Libraries here, and visit the digital collections on their site here. Lastly, visitors to our site can see all of our digitized newspapers on the North Carolina Newspapers page.
Our newest partner, the Bessemer City History and Art Society, has contributed the 1964-1967 volumes of its local newspaper The Bessemer City Record. Founded in 1898, Bessemer City is a town of about 5,000 people 25 miles from Charlotte. Its newspaper shows a close-knit community at the end of an era, with many of the same names and families reoccurring throughout the publications. These volumes reveal the beginning of the transformational changes of the 1960s, and in between high school graduations, local club events, and engagement announcements are stories about the Vietnam War and its impact on the town.
Visitors to the site can also see a variety of interesting advertisements, many of which are promoting Duke Power and its supposed benefits to housewives. These newspapers could be of interest to anyone researching Bessemer City history and genealogy, advertising, 1960s North Carolina, and much more. Learn more about the Bessemer City History and Art Society here, and keep an eye out for future batches at their DigitalNC contributor page here.
We are excited to welcome a new partner and announce our first batch of materials from Tri-County Community College! Founded in 1964, TCCC is located in Murphy, NC in mountainous Cherokee County. The materials in this upload include over 40 course catalogs and 8 yearbooks from 1975-1985, providing researchers with a trove of information on the programs and students of TCCC from 1967 to the present day.
The oldest and largest fraternal organization in the state, The Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina, was founded in 1771 and has maintained an active presence in the state since then. We are excited to add new issues of The North Carolina Mason on the site to help represent this long history. These latest additions include 1973-1993, a significant update to our preexisting collection and a valuable resource for anyone interested in the membership, activities, and philanthropy of North Carolina Freemasons in the late twentieth century. To learn more about the North Carolina Masons today, you can visit their website.
This blog is maintained by the staff of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center and features the latest news and highlights from the collections at DigitalNC, an online library of primary sources from organizations across North Carolina.
