LibGuides: Local History & Genealogy Resources: Local History

Online Resources

Historic Newspapers Online

The Sanford Express (Sanford, N.C.)

1,710 issues online; 1887-1937

Jonesboro Leader (Jonesboro, N.C.)

AKA Siler City Leader (Siler City, N.C.)

AKA The Pine Knot (Southern Pines, N.C.)

297 issues online; 1886-1892

Sanford Enterprise (Sanford, N.C.)

1 issue online; 1938

The Hustler (Lemon Springs, N.C.)

Coming soon to DigitalNC.org.

North Carolina Newspapers on DigitalNC.org

Historic North Carolina Digital Newspaper Collection (Newspapers.com) - Requires library card sign-in.

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers

Historic Maps Online

Click here for all Lee County maps from North Carolina Maps, a project of the State Archives of North Carolina, the North Carolina Collection at UNC-Chapel Hill and the Outer Banks History Center.

For more maps of North Carolina and beyond, consult the Library of Congress Map Collections, which consist of more than 5.5 million maps.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

One of the best resources for information on buildings in the early 20th century are Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, created by the Sanborn Map Company. These maps include a wealth of information, originally created to help insurance companies evaluate risk and manage insured buildings. For a guide to keys and colors in Sanborn Maps, see this guide from the Library of Congress.

Sanborn Maps are available online from 3 sources:

ProQuest Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970^

Library of Congress Maps Collections*

North Carolina Maps Collection*

^Requires library card sign-in.

*Only public domain Sanborn Maps are digitally available from these sources, up to 1926.

Lee County in the Library of Congress Map Collections or the North Carolina Maps Collection

Sanford (1908, 1915, 1925) [1930, 1938]

Moore County in the Library of Congress Map Collections or the North Carolina Maps Collection

Southern Pines (1909, 1915) [1924, 1944]
Pinehurst (1920, 1927, 1939) [1939]
Aberdeen (1924) [1930, 1939]
Carthage (1915) [1925, 1935]

Harnett County in the Library of Congress Map Collections or the North Carolina Maps Collection

Dunn (1904, 1908, 1913) [1925, 1943]

Local History Room

Lee County Libraries Local History & Genealogy Room

Main Branch - 107 Hawkins Avenue, Sanford, NC 27330

Open to the public any time the library is open, Monday through Saturday. For up-to-date library hours, see the bottom of the website. The Local History & Genealogy Room contains a wealth of resources for patrons interested in Local History, genealogical research, and North Carolina history. Due to the nature of the collection, most items are only available for in-house use, but some materials are also available online. While some special collections (photographs, scrapbooks) are stored offsite in climate-controlled storage and may require advance notice for access, all items listed below are available for same-day use in the Local History & Genealogy Room:

Volumes on Lee County, Sanford, Jonesboro, and Broadway History
Volumes on the history of historic Lee County and surrounding areas, including Moore, Chatham, and Harnett Counties
Genealogy guides and indexes, with a focus on North Carolina
Sanford City Directories (also online, up to 1978)
Family Histories
Newspapers and vital records on microfilm (including a complete run of The Sanford Herald)
High-quality microfilm reader with printing and electronic clipping capabilities
Vertical Files
Maps

Partners & Neighbors

Community Partners

These organizations are also involved in Local History work in Lee County and the surrounding area. Check out their websites for more information.

Lee County

Railroad House Historical Association and Museum