Research Guides: North Carolina History: Find Primary Sources

What time period are you researching? Choose a tab below:

Library Catalog This link opens in a new window
The classic version of the library catalog. Search the library’s collections to find books, e-books, journal titles, films, and more. Search your topic by keyword or subject--or search for specific items by author or title.
Sabin Americana This link opens in a new window
Sabin Americana is a collection of books, pamphlets, serials and other works about the Americas, from the time of their discovery to the early 1900s. Includes original accounts of discovery and exploration, pioneering and westward expansion, the U.S. Civil War and other military actions, Native Americans, slavery and abolition, religious history and more.
Native American Archives This link opens in a new window
Archive of 1.8 million pages of primary source documents pertaining to Native American history and life from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Records include Indian Census Rolls and Records of the Cherokee Indian Agency of Tennessee.

Colonial and State Records of North Carolina Online
"The Colonial and State Records of North Carolina is a twenty-six volume set of transcribed and printed documents covering North Carolina's history from its founding to shortly after the ratification of the United States Constitution." Searchable and browseable online via Documenting the American South.

The Colonial Records of North Carolina by collected and edited by William L. Saunders
Call Number: WCU REFERENCE F251 .N5, v. 1-30 + Index

North Carolina Maps
Interactive collection with maps from 1500s to 2000.

Primary Source Collections

Library Catalog This link opens in a new window
The Library Catalog will help you find collections of primary sources on your topic such as diaries, personal narratives, interviews, letters, and more. The Library Catalog also finds secondary sources, so make sure you evaluate each item.

North Carolina Digital Collections
Digital collections of the State Archives of North Carolina and the State Library of North Carolina.
Colonial and State Records of North Carolina Online
"The Colonial and State Records of North Carolina is a twenty-six volume set of transcribed and printed documents covering North Carolina's history from its founding to shortly after the ratification of the United States Constitution." Searchable and browseable online via Documenting the American South.

Documenting the American South This link opens in a new window
Documenting the American South provides access to digitized primary materials that offer Southern perspectives on American history and culture. The collection includes oral history interviews, slave narratives, letters, memoirs, literary works, and artifacts.

The Colonial Records of North Carolina by collected and edited by William L. Saunders
Call Number: WCU REFERENCE F251 .N5, v. 1-30 + Index

North Carolina Maps
Interactive collection with maps from 1500s to 2000.

Newspapers and Periodicals

Digital NC: North Carolina Newspapers
A growing collection of digitized newspapers from all over North Carolina. Each title has a limited range of dates available.Search by a topic or browse for a specific newspaper.
North Carolina Gazette
NC's first newspaper. Intermittent, through late 1700s.
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"Due to the great difficulty in obtaining paper during the Revolutionary War, no other newspaper had appeared in North Carolina since 1775. In 1778 Davis was also forced to suspend publication when his son and assistant, Thomas Davis, was conscripted into the colonial army.--Edwin H. Mammen, 2006, North Carolina Encyclopedia

Primary Source Collections

Library Catalog This link opens in a new window
Search strategy for Civil War topics: North Carolina and 1861-1865 and (sources or personal narratives)
Native American Archives This link opens in a new window
Archive of 1.8 million pages of primary source documents pertaining to Native American history and life from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Records include Indian Census Rolls and Records of the Cherokee Indian Agency of Tennessee.

WCU Special and Digital Collections
Digitized primary sources include photographs, diaries, correspondence, scrapbook. Also has a wide range of historical documents related to the university and the region.

Documenting the American South This link opens in a new window
Documenting the American South provides access to digitized primary materials that offer Southern perspectives on American history and culture. The collection includes oral history interviews, slave narratives, letters, memoirs, literary works, and artifacts.

North American Slave Narratives
Part of Documenting the American South, "North American Slave Narratives" collects books and articles that document the individual and collective story of African Americans struggling for freedom and human rights in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries."
Civil War Section of the North Carolina Digital Collections
From the State Library of North Carolina, includes letters, diaries, maps, and more.

State Troops and Volunteers by Greg Mast
Call Number: WCU GENERAL E573.4 .M37 1995
ISBN: 0865262640
Publication Date: 1995-01-01

North Carolina Maps
Interactive collection with maps from 1500s to 2000.

Newspapers and Periodicals

Digital NC: North Carolina Newspapers
A growing collection of digitized newspapers from all over North Carolina. Each title has a limited range of dates available.Search by a topic or browse for a specific newspaper.

Historic North Carolina Digital Newspaper Collection This link opens in a new window
An online historical collection of 3.5 million pages of digitized content from over 1,000 North Carolina county newspapers.
Charlotte Observer Historical Archive This link opens in a new window
Digitized images of the paper from 1892-1985.

Primary Source Collections

Library Catalog This link opens in a new window
The classic version of the library catalog. Search the library’s collections to find books, e-books, journal titles, films, and more. Search your topic by keyword or subject--or search for specific items by author or title.

Digital NC: North Carolina's Digital Heritage
" The Digital Heritage Center works with cultural heritage institutions across North Carolina to digitize and publish historic materials online." from UNC's Wilson Special Collections Library. Includes yearbooks, newspapers, images, city directories, and other memorabilia.
North Carolina Digital Collections
Digitized primary sources include photographs, diaries, correspondence, scrapbook. Also has a wide range of historical documents related to the university and the region.
WCU Special and Digital Collections
Digitized primary sources include photographs, diaries, correspondence, scrapbook. Also has a wide range of historical documents related to the university and the region.
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Includes a World War II collection.

Newspapers and Periodicals

Historic North Carolina Digital Newspaper Collection This link opens in a new window
An online historical collection of 3.5 million pages of digitized content from over 1,000 North Carolina county newspapers.
Raleigh News & Observer Historical Archive This link opens in a new window
Includes digitized images of the paper from 1910-1993. HTML full text is available from 1991-current. Text for the News & Observer Blogs is available from 2008-current and the Web Edition Articles from 2005-current.
Charlotte Observer Historical Archive This link opens in a new window
Digitized images of the paper from 1892-1985.

Sylva Herald and Ruralite, 1943-1950
1943-1950 available online through Digital NC. All other dates are available on microfilm.
Sylva Herald, 1999-present
Via the Access World News Database

Historical N.C. Newspapers

Library Catalog: Title Search
Most of the time, the library catalog will link you to databases and/or microfilm holdings.

Historic North Carolina Digital Newspaper Collection This link opens in a new window
The North Carolina Collection of Newspapers.com--subscription through NCLive

Digital NC: North Carolina Newspapers
A growing collection of digitized newspapers from all over North Carolina. Each title has a limited range of dates available.Search by a topic or browse for a specific newspaper.

Charlotte Observer Historical Archive This link opens in a new window
Digitized images of the paper from 1892-1985.
Raleigh News & Observer Historical Archive This link opens in a new window
Includes digitized images of the paper from 1910-1993. HTML full text is available from 1991-current. Text for the News & Observer Blogs is available from 2008-current and the Web Edition Articles from 2005-current.

Browse Hunter Library's NC Historical Newspapers
Hunter Library has many newspapers on microfilm; many of these are also available via various digital collections or databases. Browse those access points here--by title, location, or time period. You can also search this resource by a town name (e.g., Sylva) and find relevant newspapers.
The Cherokee Phoenix from Hunter Library
Selected English language articles from the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper, published by the Cherokee Nation from 1828-1834. Articles focus on Cherokee history and regional history. Includes an index to issues of the Cherokee Phoenix in microfilm available in Hunter Library.

America's Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Covers 1690-1922. Nine titles from N.C. and many more from the southeast.

Quick Links

Places to Start

Library Catalog This link opens in a new window

Other Collections

Documenting the American South This link opens in a new window
HeritageQuest Online This link opens in a new window
Native American Archives This link opens in a new window
Sanborn Maps North Carolina This link opens in a new window
Primary Source Databases
All other online primary source databases owned by Hunter Library.

Search Tips

1. Use these magic words to find primary sources in the Library Catalog: sources, archives, correspondence, diaries, personal narratives, pictorial works.

2. Use the terms listed above in your keyword searches:

Example: 1861-1865 and (personal narratives or anecdotes)

CAUTION: The Library Catalog finds BOTH primary and secondary sources, so take a close look at each source. Use the primary sources guide if you aren't sure.

3. Time travel in your mind. Use terminology of the era. For example, during World War I, people weren't calling it World War I.

North Carolina History: Find Primary Sources

What time period are you researching? Choose a tab below:

Historical N.C. Newspapers

Quick Links

Search Tips

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