Content Update

Oregon StatesmanThis month we’re highlighting our growing collection of papers from Oregon. Although this state’s collection is already at over 500,000 pages across 24 newspapers, Newspapers.com is planning on adding thousands more pages in the near future through our partnership with the University of Oregon.

The newspapers in our Oregon collection showcase a wide range of interests, politics, and priorities—from reports on hometown and state news, to promotion of local industries, to advocacy of women’s rights, to support of political parties, whether Whig, Independent, Democrat, or Republican.

The two oldest newspapers in the state—the Oregonian and the Oregon Statesman—can both be found on Newspapers.com. Both dating back to the 1850s, these papers give you the chance to see what life was like in Oregon before it gained statehood. For example, this editorial from an 1856 issue of the Statesman discusses the difficulties of receiving mail by coach during the rainy season.

One particularly unique title is the New Northwest. This paper was founded by suffragist Abigail Scott Duniway to promote the rights of women, hoping to address economic, social, and political injustices while also covering topics of everyday interest to women readers. In one issue of the paper from 1871, a critique of the harsh lifestyle of farmers’ wives lies side by side with a rousing pro-temperance piece, an update on the activities of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and a poem about the beauties of Oregon penned by a female contributor.

Sumpter Miner
Another interesting niche paper is the Sumpter Miner. Though this paper contains some local news, it largely focuses on mining, the industry that caused the town of Sumpter to boom (and eventually bust). Case in point, in the very first issue of the paper (dated 13 September 1899), three of the four articles on the front page mention mining in some way or another.

Right now, Newspapers.com has papers from 14 Oregon cities: Ashland, Astoria, Burns, Enterprise, Grants Pass, Joseph, Klamath Falls, Medford, Ontario, Portland, Salem, St. Helens, Sumpter, and Toledo. So if you have ancestors that hail from those cities or the surrounding areas, you just might find information about them in the newspapers, like this tidbit from the Burns Times-Herald about what happened to Mr. E.W. Lewis, a local horse breaker, when he tried to go on vacation.

Get started browsing Oregon papers here. Or use our Search box for more specific queries.

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29 thoughts on “Oregon Papers

  1. How wonderful that you are adding so many Oregon related newspapers. I am anxiously waiting to see Maryland newspapers in print…especially the Baltimore papers!

  2. It is so great that so many old papers are being put online. I have enjoy looking up some family members in some of them. I am really hoping someone will eventually get the Beacon News and earlier newspapers from Paris, Illinois online one day to help with my ancestry research.

  3. Hurry, hurry please and get the St Paul papers included. Our Pioneer Press started about 1853ish and is the oldest paper in MN.

    1. Hi Roger
      I’m looking for husband’s relatives in Dutchess County as well . I wonder if they are the same

    1. You can order Detroit papers free through interlibrary loan, all you need is a library card.

  4. I am looking forward to seeing more papers for Lubbock and Amarillo especially in the months Sept.-Dec. for the years 1920-2000

  5. Please try to get more newspapers in Alabama. Birmingham News and Post Herald, St Clair New Aegis and Gadsden times.

  6. I’m a Tour Director and would love to know how to print just one article instead of the entire page the article is on, so that it’s larger print and readable, for myself to share the stories and to possibly pass around a story or two on tour. Is this possible? I haven’t figured it out yet. Yes, very excited to see Oregon news being added.

    1. When you click the “Print/Save” button, the first choice you have is to print or save the “Entire Page” or to “Select portion of page” to print or save. If you chose the “Select portion…” option you can draw a box around the part of the page you want to print or save. Hope that helps.

  7. Hope that the Albany Times Union will be available soon. My Grandfather was the Managing Editor and I would love to see his Editorials.

  8. I haven’t been able to find any Houston, TX papers. That’s quite a big hole in the collection.

  9. Although not a R.I. research, I am interested in immigrant family of same name lived in Providence. This included a CW veteran from the Signal Corps. Keep expanding Newspapers.com.

    Also as a PA research, Extensive immigrants are coal miners and listed in Pottsville Miner’s Journal in Pottsville, PA.

  10. Thank you so very much for including newspapers from Oregon. I’m anxiously waiting to see if you will load newspapers from Tillamook County, Oregon, that include the Headlight, the Herald and very small town newspapers in South Tillamook County including the Cloverdale Courier, the early newspaper from Woods, Oregon, etc.

    Dean Bones

  11. Please get Forrest
    City, ARkansas newspapers online! They go way back!!!!
    Please get them soon

  12. The early newspapers from Tennessee, Knoxville or Knox County, the newspapers from Brownsville, Haywood Co. Nashville, Chattanooga, Hamilton Co., or Murfresseboro, or Rutherford Co. Names are Barclay, Naill, Clinton, Read, I know that my 4th gr.grandfather and grandmother were married in Knox Co. in 1799. Would love to read more as just came back from Tn.

  13. Fabulous website and I’m glad to be a member. Please continue to enhance
    your collection of THE KANSAS CITY STAR. I’m especially interested in papers
    from 1947-1961. You have many…but some years are missing entire months.
    Also would love it if you could include the Trenton Republican-Times from
    Trenton, MO for the same years. Many thanks…I visit this website daily!

  14. Do you have the Moorefield Examiner, Moorefield, WV newspaper yet? I have a few clippings from it, and know it would be helpful in my Genealogy research.

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