WMU Research Guides: History: Regional & Local: Databases and Indexes

Local News

Kalamazoo Gazette Collection (1837-Current) This link opens in a new window
Search and browse the digitized and web-only versions of the Kalamazoo Gazette Collection. Coverage from 1837 to Current, containing both full color newspaper pages and individual articles as well as content only published online.

Michigan News Sources This link opens in a new window
Search or browse more than 200 newspapers from Michigan, including the Kalamazoo Gazette, Detroit News, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, the Western Herald, and more. Starting coverage dates vary from 1980 to current.
Detroit Free Press (1831-1999) This link opens in a new window
Search the full-text of the Detroit Free Press by keywords or names, or limit your search to type of document such as editorials, cartoons, classifieds, birth and marriage notices, front page stories, display ads, legal notices, obituaries and the weather.

Sanborn Digital Maps This link opens in a new window
Maps of 300 Michigan towns and cities drawn at a scale of 50 feet to the inch, including street blocks and building numbers.

Library of Congress Panoramic Map Collection
The panoramic map was a popular cartographic form used to depict U.S. and Canadian cities and towns during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Known also as bird's-eye views, perspective maps, and aero views, panoramic maps are nonphotographic representations of cities portrayed as if viewed from above at an oblique angle. Although not generally drawn to scale, they show street patterns, individual buildings, and major landscape features in perspective. This collection may be searched by city name.
General Land Office Platts for Michigan
General Land Office (GLO) plat maps are derived from original surveyor notes of the State of Michigan. The survey was conducted in the early to mid 1800's. All documents pertaining to the original survey of Michigan can be found in the State Archives of Michigan.
Land Patent Research
Land patents document the transfer of land ownership from the federal government to individuals. Patents may be searched by name or property description. This database is free.

Historical Census Browser
The data presented here describe the population and economy of U.S. states and counties from 1790 to 1960. The available data differ somewhat from decade to decade, according to what was collected in the census and the items chosen for transcription to electronic form.

Ancestry Library Edition This link opens in a new window
Several wide-ranging collections of information for conducting genealogical and local history research. Includes: digitized images of the United States Federal Census from 1790 forward; U.S. immigration collection; birth, marriage and death records (Social Security Death Index (SSDI)); U.K. census collection; military records; and many more.

HeritageQuest Online
Records from the 1790 - 1930 U.S. federal censuses, over 28,000 books of family and local histories, and primary-source documents. Search over 2 million articles form genealogy and history periodicals in PERSI.

Email me

Librarian:

Zhang Legacy Collections Center:
Archives and Regional History
1650 Oakland Dr.
Kalamazoo, MI 49008

(269) 387-8490 or (269) 387-8497

Subjects: Archives and Special Collections