Make a Payment Advanced Search | Digital Collection
Featured Resources
The following databases require a library card sign-in.
African American Heritage (AAH) - Available on all computers within the library.
Ancestry.com - Available on all computers within the library.
HeritageQuest Online - Similar resources to Ancestry.com, available outside of the library.
Lee County Libraries provides access to the Sanford Express (1887-1937 aka Central Express), Sanford Herald (1930-present), and Jonesboro Leader (aka Siler City Leader) newspapers on microfilm. The library maintains a high-quality microfilm reader with options for printing and saving clippings to file.
In addition, the Sanford Express and Jonesboro Leader newspapers have been digitized and are fully searchable online via DigitalNC.org. A single issue of The Sanford Enterprise, an historically Black newspaper published in Sanford, is available digitally thanks to our friends at the Railroad House Historical Association and Museum. COMING SOON to DigitalNC - The Hustler, published in Lemon Springs, NC!
In November 2023, The Sanford Herald generously donated their photographic print archives to the Lee County Libraries. Including thousands of images, this collection spans the late 1930s to the early 2000s, and covers a wide range of topics in Lee County and the surrounding area. Library staff are currently processing these images and preparing them for digitization. Stay tuned - the first batch of Sanford Herald photos should go online via DigitalNC.org in late 2024.
Welcome to the Lee County Libraries Local History & Genealogy Room
The Local History & Genealogy Room, located in the Lee County Libraries Main Branch in Sanford, is Lee County's home for historical and genealogical records. Due to the nature of the collection, items are generally only available for in-house use, but many resources are also available online. The Local History & Genealogy Room is open to the public whenever the Main Branch is open.
Library staff are available to provide specialized research assistance by email and by phone. Resources include vertical files, family histories, genealogical and local history books, microfilmed newspapers, vital records, and censuses, photographs, scrapbooks, yearbooks, maps and more. Online resources include Ancestry Library Edition, Heritage Quest, African American Heritage, and Historical North Carolina Newspapers.
The Lee County Libraries partners with the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center (Digital NC) to digitize materials from the Local History & Genealogy Room, as well as resources from several local partners. Materials available online from DigitalNC.org include photographs, newspapers (Sanford Express, Sanford Enterprise, Jonesboro Leader), yearbooks (up to 1975), city directories, scrapbooks, and more! We work with Digital NC in "batches," so new materials are uploaded every few months.
All Lee County Resources
Lee County Libraries
Railroad House Historical Association and Museum
Sanford Woman's Club Scrapbook Collection
Temple Theatre
W.B. Wicker School Alumni (coming soon!)
Jonesboro Historical Society (coming soon!)
This self-guided walking tour of Historic Downtown Sanford highlights historic images from the library's collection. Compatible with smartphones and desktop devices, you can take this approximately 1 mile tour on the sidewalk or from the comfort of your home. Print maps of the tour are available from the Lee County Libraries Main Branch and the Sanford Visitor's Center.
The library periodically offers guided versions of this tour - stay tuned to the monthly newsletter for more information!
2024 Upcoming Guided Walking Tours:
Saturday, October 12th, 11:00 AM & 2:00 PM - Depart from Steele Street during Downtown Street Fest (Look for the Lee County Libraries tent!)
Saturday, November 9th, 11:45 AM - Depart from Sanford Farmer's Market (Look for the Lee County Libraries tent!)
