Viewing entries tagged "newspapers"

New Newspaper Issues From UNC’s North Carolina Collection Now on DigitalNC

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.

Search or browse all of our newspapers here.


New issue of The Elkin Tribune now available

Digital NC is happy to announce another issue of The Elkin Tribune is digitized online, thanks to our partners at the Western Regional Archives.

Birds-eye view of Elkin

This 1914 edition of the paper is a great resource to delve into the local history of Elkin, as it celebrates local businesses, elected officials, and the industrial history of the town – such as the construction of a new railroad and a wooden suspension bridge that once held the title for longest in the world at 210 feet!

Advertisement for Elkin railroad
Writeup about The Old Wooden Bridge


To explore other available issues on The Elkin Times on our website, click here. And to explore other North Carolina newspapers, click here


Dive into new issues of the Watauga Democrat Newspaper

The 1966-1970 issues of the Watauga Democrat (Boone, N.C.) are now available online at Digital NC, thanks to our partner, the Watauga County Public Library

Front page of the September 3, 1970 issue of the Watauga Democrat featuring headline that says "Boone Population Is Set At 8,566"

Browse through this weekly paper to see the happenings of Boone over half a century ago! Weekly marriage announcements, birth announcements, and obituaries are sure to make this a rich resource for any genealogist, especially due to text-searchable pages.

Plus, who doesn’t want to fantasize about grocery prices being this cheap again:

Clipping of grocery ads

Founded in 1888, the Watauga Democrat still reports on local news today. Check out their website here! To explore other issues of the Watauga Democrat on Digital NC, click here. And to search through other North Carolina newspapers in our collection, click here.


New Braswell Memorial Library Materials Available!

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.


Final issues of The Carolina Times now available!

We are excited to announce that the final issues of The Carolina Times are now available on the DigitalNC website! Our site now hosts 3,811 total issues of the Durham-based African-American newspaper spanning from 1937 to 2020. With the publication of its final issue in 2020, The Carolina Times cemented its long legacy of promoting the interests of the Black community in Durham and across the nation. Thanks to funding from UNC Libraries’ IDEA grants over the past 3 years, we have been able to complete this work and expand access to this important piece of North Carolina history.

The paper shuttered after the death of its longtime publisher Kenneth Edmonds at the age of 66. Edmonds was the grandson of founder Louis Austin. Described as “the most important voice for freedom in Durham and in North Carolina” from the 1920s through the 1970s, Austin was a staunch advocate for Durham’s Black community and a powerful force behind local voter registration and school integration efforts. His descendants continued his work, as Edmonds and his mother Vivian “didn’t miss an edition” in the 1970s, even after a fire believed to be a result of arson destroyed the Carolina Times‘s building. Read more about Louis Austin, Kenneth Edmonds, and the family’s powerful legacy here.

In its final years, The Carolina Times continued to be a voice for social justice, especially through the fraught presidency of Donald Trump and the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Below is one example of the Carolina Times’s reporting that focuses in on the experience of the Black Americans.

One exciting find in these final issues is a shoutout to none other than DigitalNC! As the below article suggests in what can only be described as a full circle moment, these uploads of The Carolina Times are invaluable to researchers, genealogists, and anyone interested in exploring local issues in Durham’s Black community.

While the closure of The Carolina Times is a loss for North Carolina and the larger Black press landscape, we are honored to make these issues available digitally and contribute to the paper’s preservation. To explore all available issues of The Carolina Times on our website, click here. For a look at other local North Carolina newspapers, click here.


Over 10 Years of Perquimans Weekly Issues Added to DigitalNC!

Newspaper title header that reads: The Perquimans Weekly.

Thanks to our partners, Perquimans County Library and Pettigrew Regional Library, as well as funding from the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), a massive batch of The Perquimans Weekly adds 10+ years worth of issues to DigitalNC! This batch expands our current holdings to include the years: 1989 to 1992 and 2010 to 2020.

Individual wearing a wicker hat, white outfit with a red rose on their left shoulder, and American flag on the right side of their chest, and red gloves, riding a horse.

Below the photo the caption reads: Linda McRae of Elizabeth City rides in style.
Linda McRae of Elizabeth City rides in style [The Perquimans Weekly, March 23, 2011]

Commemorating the migration of Quakers from Perquimans County to the Northwest Territories during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, individuals donned their best Quaker costumes and hopped on their horses or into their horse-drawn buggies and wagons to participate in the Friends to Freedom Wagon Train that traveled through Perquimans County from March 17th to 20th in 2011.

The first two days of the event were set aside for riding the planned 25 mile trail. They started their journey at the Newbold-White House campsite, making stops in Beech Springs, Belvidere, Bagley Swamp, and Winfall. In Belvidere, around 400 people came out to celebrate the train with vendors, live entertainment, wagon rides, food, and promotion of the area’s historical homes and buildings.

On the last leg of the journey, the Train took the Causeway and historic S bridge to parade through Hertford before finally coming back to the Newbold-White House. The final day of the event ended with breakfast, a church service, and a driving course competition at the Newbold-White House site.

Photograph of individuals in a parade formation. At the very front of the parade is an individual riding a motorized scooter in a Quaker outfit. Behind that person some people are in buggies and wagons being pulled by horses and others riding on horses. Some people are waiving American flags. People are on the sidewalks taking pictures with their phones or waving to the people in the parade.

Below the photograph the caption reads: The Friends to Freedom Wagon Train rolls into historic downtown Hertford Saturday, greeted by a large, appreciative crowd.
The Friends to Freedom Wagon Train rolls into Historic downtown Hertford […] [The Perquimans Weekly, March 23, 2011]

To view more issues of The Perquimans Weekly, please click here.

To learn more about the Perquimans Public Library, visit their website here.

To view more newspapers from across North Carolina, please click here.


The State’s Voice, Harnett County Newspaper with A Strong Editorial Voice, Added to DigitalNC

Black and white masthead of the February 15, 1933 issue of The State's Voice

Issues of The State’s Voice, published in Dunn, NC from 1933-1935, have been added to DigitalNC. Published by O. J. (Oscar J.) Peterson, this paper is much more of an editorial vehicle than many other papers at the time. The entire front page is devoted to his thoughts on one or more news items or topics of the day. His other interest was in writing informational essays about various parts of the state, like the one in this issue about Orange County and Hillsboro(ugh).

Over the years, Peterson managed a number of newspapers besides The State’s Voice including the Chatham Record, the Sampson Democrat, and the Lumberton Argus. Aligning with the Democratic platform of the time, Peterson expresses strong opinions in his paper about prohibition, public education, and economics. His editorials are so pointed that they are alternatively lauded or criticized in other papers.

In the final issue of the paper, Peterson says: “The publication of the State’s Voice has been an interesting experience, or experiment, in several respects.” The paper was intended to be read statewide, and was launched upon a “highly intellectual basis with a confessed non-public appeal.” He seems to attribute the demise of the paper in part to a lack of intellectuality amongst his subscribers, despite many of them being prominent in the state.

This paper was added on behalf of the Harnett County Public Library. You can view all of the materials contributed to DigitalNC from Harnett County Public Library on their contributor page.


Explore Johnston County with new issues of the Smithfield Herald

DigitalNC is excited to announce that four more years of The Smithfield Herald are now available online, thanks to our partner, the Johnston County Heritage Center.

The Smithfield Herald, established in 1882, was the oldest newspaper in Johnston County, offering an important insight into the county’s history. These semiweekly issues from January 1926 to April 1930 highlight local interests. Popular topics include weddings, deaths, church news, and local politics.

Local politics headline: "Elect Committees For 17 Townships"
Headline: "Women's Realm: weddings, parties, club meetings, social functions, personals, local happenings"

Also available to explore: creative writing! The Smithfield Herald published serialized fiction, poems, and short stories. Below is one example:

Poem titled "The Man Your Mother Thinks You Are"

Learn more about the Johnston County Heritage Center and browse their extensive collections here. To look through all 3,096 issues of The Smithfield Herald available on DigitalNC, click here. And to search through other North Carolina newspapers, click here.


Issues of The Central Express and The Sanford Express Now Available on DigitalNC!

Newspaper title: Central Express. Between the words Central and Express is an image of a train going along the tracks with a building in the back right.

Over 1,700 issues of The Central Express and The Sanford Express are now available to view thanks to our partner Lee County Libraries and funding from the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). According to the Library of Congress, the paper was published under name The Central Express from ~1886 until 1891 when it was changed to The Sanford Express. This batch adds issues from a period of urbanization as well as agricultural and industrial expansion in Lee County from the late 19th to the early-to-mid 20th century.

From 1880 to 1919, Sanford saw agricultural and industrial expansion and community growth as a result of improved transportation. During this period, a large Black community began to take shape in Sanford with the establishment of business and residential district centered on Pearl Street. Individuals who did not work in the Pearl Street businesses in Sanford farmed; worked in the county’s brownstone quarries, sawmills, turpentine distilleries; or in building trades.

John and David Womack are specifically mentioned in the National Register of Historic Places application submitted in 1993 for the “Historic and Architectural Resources of Lee County, North Carolina, ca. 1800-1942,” as Black business operators. According to the application, the two were operators of a brickyard located near Sanford in the 1890s. Interestingly, John Womack is mentioned in the September 29, 1889 issue of The Central Express as being “a respectable colored man of this place,” that went to Charlotte to “become chief cook at the Buford House.” There appears to be no follow-up in The Sanford Express for John Womack’s return to Sanford in the 1890s to operate the brickyard.

Information about Sanford was taken from the NPS National Register of Historic Places application, seen here.

To view more issues of The Central Express and The Sanford Express, view the newspaper’s landing page here.

To browse more newspapers from across North Carolina, view our newspaper collection page here.

To learn more about Lee County Libraries, visit their website here.


1904-1909 Issues of Asheville Gazette-News Now on DigitalNC!

1,691 issues of The Asheville-Gazette News are 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.


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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.

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