The Oregon Digital Newspaper Program – is a collection of historical newspapers that are available to search online. You can research right at your dining room table – access their complete content!
I’ve played around with the data base and was amazed at how easy it is to navigate. Your key search words are highlighted in red and can quickly be spotted on the page. You can search specific newspaper titles or all the titles at once. There are about thirty titles from all over Oregon, encompassing the late 1800’s and up to 1922 with some titles.
- All the content – less the dirty fingers!
For the family historian, being able to search key words from over 150,000 digital pages of historical newspapers – at your convenience, at home, is fantastic! Search for the news accounts about your ancestor’s birth, marriage and death. Look up the events that shaped their lives. Are their stories in your family about the mill that grandfather worked burning down? How a family member saved a child drowning in the river? The flood that ripped through their property? The possibilities are almost endless. These articles will help bring to life our family histories!
At the History tab are historic essays about the newspapers that have been digitalized. For example the Oregon City Oregon Spectator was not only the first newspaper in Oregon (1846), but also the first newspaper on the entire West Coast!
All the newspapers featured are in the public domain so any stories that you find can freely be added to your family publications, though they ask that you acknowledge the site. To start your search simply go to the webpage and click the search tab. I would also recommend reading through the information at the “help” tab. It will answer many of your questions the database and how to get the most out of your searches.
For the historian and the family genealogist – this is a gold mine. Take some time and search the treasure trove of information it has.
After you have exhausted all your family names at this site, do not forget to periodically check back, as more titles will be added to the database.
