How to Research Local History: A Complete Guide
Whether you're tracing your family roots, documenting your neighborhood's past, or simply curious about how your town evolved, local history research is a rewarding journey into the stories that shaped your community. This comprehensive guide will help you uncover the hidden history all around you.
The Power of Local History: While textbooks cover major historical events, local history reveals how ordinary people lived, worked, and built communities. These personal stories and small details bring history to life in ways grand narratives cannot.
Getting Started: Define Your Research Question
Before diving into archives and documents, clarify what you want to discover. Effective research begins with a focused question:
- Location-Based: "What businesses operated at 123 Main Street throughout history?"
- Time-Based: "What was my neighborhood like in the 1950s?"
- Business-Based: "When did Smith's Pharmacy operate and who owned it?"
- Theme-Based: "How did the railroad impact local development?"
- Personal: "Where did my grandparents live and work?"
A clear question helps you identify relevant sources and avoid getting overwhelmed by the vast amount of historical information available.
Primary Sources: The Foundation of Research
Primary sources are original materials from the time period you're studying. They provide firsthand evidence and authentic details that secondary sources cannot match.
City Directories and Business Directories
What They Are: Annual publications listing residents, their addresses, occupations, and local businesses—essentially historical phone books.
What You'll Find: Who lived where, what businesses existed, occupation information, business locations and owners.
Where to Access: Local libraries, historical societies, genealogy websites (Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org), university archives.
Research Tip: Compare directories from different years to track changes. If someone disappears from one year to the next, they may have moved, changed occupations, or passed away.
Newspaper Archives
What They Are: Historical newspapers containing local news, advertisements, obituaries, and society announcements.
What You'll Find: Business openings/closings, property sales, community events, local crime, society news, advertisements showing what products were sold where.
Where to Access: Local library microfilm collections, Newspapers.com, Chronicling America (free Library of Congress database), local historical society archives.
Research Tip: Don't just search for specific names—browse through entire issues to get a feel for the time period and discover unexpected connections.
Historical Maps and Atlases
What They Are: Period maps showing property boundaries, building locations, infrastructure, and land use.
What You'll Find: Property ownership, building locations, railroad lines, street layouts, commercial vs. residential areas.
Where to Access: Local libraries, county assessor's offices, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (available through many libraries), David Rumsey Map Collection (online).
Research Tip: Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps are particularly valuable—they show individual buildings, their construction materials, and sometimes even business names from the 1880s-1950s.
Photographs and Postcards
What They Are: Historical images showing buildings, streetscapes, people, and events.
What You'll Find: Visual evidence of what places looked like, architectural details, business signage, street scenes, community gatherings.
Where to Access: Historical societies, library special collections, eBay and other auction sites, family collections, municipal archives.
Research Tip: Photos often have captions or writing on the back. Even undated photos can be dated approximately by details like car models, clothing styles, or visible signage.
Government Records
What They Are: Official documents including property records, building permits, tax assessments, and municipal meeting minutes.
What You'll Find: Property ownership chains, construction dates, business licenses, zoning changes, municipal decisions affecting development.
Where to Access: County recorder's office, city/village hall, county courthouse, state archives.
Research Tip: Property records are particularly valuable—they establish exactly when ownership changed and sometimes reveal family relationships.
Secondary Sources: Context and Overview
Secondary sources analyze and interpret primary sources, providing context and broader understanding:
- Local History Books: Published histories of your town or county, often available at libraries or historical societies
- Historical Society Publications: Newsletters, journals, and research bulletins focusing on local topics
- University Theses: Graduate students often research local topics in depth—check nearby university library databases
- Commemorative Publications: Books published for town anniversaries (centennials, sesquicentennials) often contain valuable compiled research
Oral History: Living Memory
One of the most valuable and time-sensitive resources is interviewing people who remember the past firsthand:
Who to Interview
- Long-time residents who remember businesses and neighborhoods from decades ago
- Former business owners or their descendants
- Retired municipal employees (police, fire, public works)
- Retired teachers who can describe schools and student life
- Anyone with family photo collections or documents
Interview Best Practices
- Prepare Questions: Have a list ready, but allow conversation to flow naturally
- Record (With Permission): Audio or video recording preserves details you might miss in notes
- Ask Open-Ended Questions: "What was Main Street like in the 1960s?" rather than "Was there a bakery on Main Street?"
- Follow Up on Details: When someone mentions a business or event, ask for specifics about location, timeframe, and people involved
- Request Introductions: Ask if they know others who might remember the topic
Digital Resources for Local History
The internet has revolutionized historical research, making previously inaccessible sources available from home:
Free Resources
- FamilySearch.org: Free genealogy site with census records, directories, and documents
- Chronicling America: Free searchable historical newspaper database from Library of Congress
- Google Books: Many old local history books and directories are fully digitized and searchable
- Internet Archive: Massive collection of digitized books, maps, and documents
- Local Library Websites: Many offer digital collections of local history materials
Subscription Resources (Often Free Through Libraries)
- Ancestry.com: Extensive collection of census records, directories, and documents (free with many library cards)
- Newspapers.com: Searchable historical newspaper archives (sometimes free through library subscriptions)
- Fold3: Military records and documents relevant to local veterans
Organizing Your Research
As you gather information, organization becomes crucial to avoid getting overwhelmed:
Create a Research Log
Document every source you check, even if you don't find anything. This prevents duplicate work and helps you remember where you found specific information. Include:
- Source name and location
- Date you checked it
- What you were looking for
- What you found (or didn't find)
- Page numbers or other citation details
Use Consistent File Naming
For digital files, develop a naming system like: YEAR_LOCATION_SOURCE_DESCRIPTION.pdf
Example: "1955_MainSt_CityDirectory_SmithPharmacy.pdf"
Cross-Reference Information
Create timelines or spreadsheets tracking the same location or business across multiple sources. This helps you spot contradictions and confirm details through multiple sources.
Common Research Challenges and Solutions
Challenge: Can't Find What You're Looking For
Solutions:
- Try variant spellings (historical records often have inconsistent spelling)
- Expand your time range—look 5-10 years before and after your target date
- Check adjacent properties or nearby businesses for context clues
- Ask librarians and archivists—they know their collections and can suggest sources you haven't considered
Challenge: Conflicting Information
Solutions:
- Prioritize primary sources over secondary sources
- Consider that both sources might be correct for different time periods
- Look for a third source to break the tie
- Document the discrepancy and note that sources disagree
Challenge: Archives Are Far Away
Solutions:
- Email or call ahead—many archivists will check specific sources and send scans for small research questions
- Use digital resources first to narrow what you need from physical archives
- Plan focused research trips rather than browsing visits
- Connect with local historical society volunteers who may already have information compiled
Sharing Your Findings
Research is most valuable when shared with others interested in local history:
- Contribute to When It Was: Add locations, businesses, photos, and stories to our database to preserve and share your discoveries
- Present to Historical Societies: Local groups always welcome presentations about specific research topics
- Write Articles: Local newspapers, historical society newsletters, and blogs need content
- Social Media: Share historical photos and stories on local community Facebook groups
- Create Displays: Libraries, village halls, and local businesses often welcome historical photo displays
Start Your Research Journey
Local history research is endlessly rewarding. Every document discovered, every interview conducted, and every photo dated adds another piece to the puzzle of how your community developed. Your research preserves stories that would otherwise be lost forever.
Ready to explore what others have already discovered? Browse our interactive map to see documented locations in your area, and consider adding your own research findings to help build our community archive.
Remember: Every expert researcher started as a beginner. Start small, be persistent, and enjoy the detective work of uncovering your community's past. The stories are out there waiting to be discovered!