Local History Websites

Historic American newspapers. Search newspaper pages from 1836-1922. A project of the National Endowment for the Humanities & the Library of Congress.

A comprehensive treasury of resources, including U.S. federal census images, periodical resources, genealogy and local history books, Revolutionary War records, Freedman’s Bank records, and the LexisNexis U.S. Serial Set. Log in with your library card number. Don’t have a library card? Sign up now for an eCard.

Indiana’s digital historic newspaper program. Free, online access to Indiana’s historic newspapers. Operated by the Indiana State Library.

Digital archive of state history, including histories, personal narratives and memoirs, pamphlets and political speeches, sermons and songs, legal treatises and children’s books. Log in with your library card number. Don’t have a library card? Sign up now for an eCard.

Access nearly three million records, including death, institutional, military, naturalization, and other historical records. Fully indexed and searchable. Named a “Best State Website” by Family Tree Magazine.

Find information about the history of La Porte County.

Find information about Michigan City history, the old lighthouse, Harriet Colfax, and more.

More than five million historical images, books, exhibits and more from the Library of Congress.

Available only for use within the library. Contains billions of records, including U.S. census images and indexes, military records, immigration records, directories, vital records, and international collections.

DPLA connects people to the riches held within America’s libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural heritage institutions. Many items related to Michigan City, LaPorte County, and Indiana history are available in the collections. All of the materials found through DPLA—photographs, books, maps, news footage, oral histories, personal letters, museum objects, artwork, government documents, and so much more—are free and immediately available in digital format.

A place for people to share photos and stories, telling the histories of their local communities. Includes many of Michigan City Public Library’s historic images.

Collections, exhibitions, publications, and programs about Indiana history.

A free digital library of Indiana’s unique cultural and historical heritage, including digitized books, manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, maps, and other media. Created through a collaboration of Indiana libraries, museums, and cultural organizations.

Indiana Legacy combines existing Indiana State Library databases with the Vital INformation Exchange (VINE), a collaborative statewide database composed of Indiana local history and vital records from Indiana libraries, historical societies, genealogy societies, and related organizations. Search for birth, marriage, death, divorce, obituaries, court records, newspapers, scrapbooks, yearbooks, military records, and many other record types.

Information on the history and ancestors of LaPorte County, Indiana.

Index of obituaries that appeared in the Michigan City News Dispatch and earlier Michigan City newspapers. Covers 1887-present. Includes name, obituary date, newspaper name and page/column number. Obituaries are available on microfilm at the library.