Digital Collections and Resources

The digital collections and online resources of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of primary source and educational materials related to the local history for each U.S. state and territory.

African American History

Library collections provide unique biographical records of African American families and communities.

African American Photographs Assembled for 1900 Paris Exposition
The Paris Exposition of 1900 (Exposition universelle internationale de 1900) devoted a building to matters of "social economy." The United States section of the building featured an exhibit that, according to W. E. B. Du Bois, attempted to show "(a) The history of the American Negro. (b) His present condition. (c) His education. (d) His literature." The Library of Congress holds approximately 220 mounted photographs reportedly displayed in the exhibition (LOTs11293-11308), as well as material specially compiled by Du Bois. Among these are three albums entitled "The Black Code of Georgia, U.S.A.," offering transcriptions of Georgia state laws relating to blacks, 1732-1899 (LOT 11932).
Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 to 1938
Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 contains more than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves. These narratives were collected in the 1930s as part of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) of the Works Progress Administration, later renamed Work Projects Administration (WPA). At the conclusion of the Slave Narrative project, a set of edited transcripts was assembled and microfilmed in 1941 as the seventeen-volume Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves. In 2000-2001, with major support from the Citigroup Foundation, the Library digitized the narratives from the microfilm edition and scanned from the originals 500 photographs, including more than 200 that had never been microfilmed or made publicly available. This online collection is a joint presentation of the Manuscript and Prints and Photographs divisions of the Library of Congress.
Voices Remembering Slavery: Freed People Tell Their Stories
The recordings of former slaves in Voices Remembering Slavery: Freed People Tell Their Stories took place between 1932 and 1975 in nine states. Twenty-three interviewees discuss how they felt about slavery, slaveholders, coercion of slaves, their families, and freedom. Several individuals sing songs, many of which were learned during the time of their enslavement. It is important to note that all of the interviewees spoke sixty or more years after the end of their enslavement, and it is their full lives that are reflected in these recordings. The individuals documented in this presentation have much to say about living as African Americans from the 1870s to the 1930s, and beyond.

Architecture and Historic Buildings

Part of the digitized image collections, these architectural and engineering records can be useful in researching local history and genealogy.

Carnegie Survey of the Architecture of the South
Noted architectural photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston (1864-1952) created a systematic record of early American buildings and gardens called the Carnegie Survey of the Architecture of the South (CSAS). This collection, created primarily in the 1930s, provides more than 7,100 images showing an estimated 1,700 structures and sites in rural and urban areas of Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana, and to a lesser extent Florida, Mississippi, and West Virginia. Johnston’s interest in both vernacular and high style structures resulted in vivid portrayals of the exteriors and interiors of houses, mills, and churches as well as mansions, plantations, and outbuildings.
Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey
The collection includes photographs, measured drawings, and written historical documentation on thousands of structures from about 1933 to the present. Search the collection to find the communities and buildings where your ancestors lived, worked, or visited. View the Place Index to look up entries posted for your community.

Bibliographies and Guides

These research guides provide additional digital and print state-specific resources.

American Folklife Center Collections: Alabama
This guide provides access to ethnographic resources documenting expressive culture in the state of Alabama at the Library of Congress.
Caucasus: Address and Telephone Directories
Telephone directories are used by genealogists and historians to identify people and businesses from a particular place and era. This guide lists the directories from the countries of the Caucasus in the Library of Congress collections.
Civil War Secessions: Topics in Chronicling America
From 1860 to 1861, eleven states seceeded from the Union to make the Confederacy. This guide provides access to material related to "Civil War Secessions" in the Chronicling America digital collection of historic newspapers.
Georgia: Local History & Genealogy Resource Guide
Compiled by reference specialists at the Library of Congress, this guide identifies key print and online resources for pursuing family history, as well as state, county and municipal historical research, for the state of Georgia.
Georgia: State Resource Guide
This guide provides access to digital materials related to the state of Georgia at the Library of Congress, as well as links to external websites and a selected print bibliography.
Guide to Law Online: Georgia
This guide, prepared by the Law Library of Congress, includes links to free online resources regarding the country of Georgia, focusing on its constitution; executive, legislative and judicial branches; legal guides; and general sources.
Guide to Law Online: U.S. Georgia
This guide, prepared by the Law Library of Congress, includes links to free online legal resources regarding Georgia, focusing on its constitution; executive, legislative, and judicial branches; legal guides; and general sources.
Gullah/Geechee History and Culture
After ratification of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, banning slavery in 1865, most of the African and American-born slaves along the southeastern coast of the United States remained, cultivating a rich culture.
Jimmy Carter: A Resource Guide
Jimmy Carter served as the thirty-ninth President of the United States (1977-81). This guide provides access to digital materials at the Library of Congress, external websites, and a selected print bibliography.
Sherman's March to the Sea: Topics in Chronicling America
In 1864, soldiers marched in a 20-day campaign across Georgia to cripple the Confederacy. This guide provides access to material related to "Sherman's March to the Sea" in the Chronicling America digital collection of historic newspapers.
The Caucasus: Cartographic Resources in the Library of Congress
This research guide describes a wide variety of mostly uncataloged and informative primary cartographic resources, as well as related bibliographies and online resources for the study of the modern history of the Caucasus.

City and Telephone Directories

City and telephone directories allow you to look for individuals, families, or businesses to view such details as: addresses, occupations, and household residents. Observed broadly, they will also provide a community perspective. The following resources provide an inventory of the city and telephone directories available at the Library of Congress.

Images Online

U.S. Telephone Directory Collection
The Library of Congress's online collection of telephone directories represents the following states and localities: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the city of Chicago. The dates of the directories span most of the 20th century. The Library's United States telephone directory collection consists of 8,327 digitized reels of microfilm; of these, about 3,500 are presented in this collection.

For a convenient list of the digitized directories:

Click on the Collection Items tab.
Scroll down the sidebar until you see Location. On that list, click More Locations.
On this page, you can select the option to organize the location list alphabetically.
Now you can navigate all cities included in the digital collection. Once you select the city of interest, you can use the Sort By box in the top-right corner to arrange the directories for that city by date.

Lists of Available Directories in Print and Microform

Directories By Address: Inventories of Library Collections
There are directories that organize alphabetically and there are directories that organize by street address. The Library has both types, but this guide is primarily an inventory of directory collections where the directories are organized by address.
United States: City and Telephone Directories
City and telephone directories are used to identify people and businesses from a specific time and place. This guide provides an index to the extensive collection of United States city and telephone directories available at the Library of Congress.

Maps

The following online map collections include maps and views of cities, counties, battlefields, transportation, and general geography. Explore each collection using the search box on the upper-right. Type in city or town names to view related items. Search all digitized map collections to find additional local and state geographical documentation of communities from the colonial era to present day.

Cities and Towns
These maps depict a range from individual buildings to panoramic views of large urban areas. They record the evolution of cities illustrating the development and nature of economic activities, educational and religious facilities, parks, street patterns and widths, and transportation systems.
Civil War Maps
Brings together materials from three premier collections: the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division, the Virginia Historical Society, and the Library of Virginia.
Panoramic Maps
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.
Railroad Maps, 1828-1900
Type the state name into the search box on the upper-right to reveal state-specific railroad maps that represent an important historical record, illustrating the growth of travel and settlement as well as the development of industry and agriculture in the United States. Included in the collection are progress report surveys for individual lines, official government surveys, promotional maps, maps showing land grants and rights-of-way, and route guides published by commercial firms.
Sanborn Maps
The Sanborn maps are arranged by state, then city and release data. The Sanborn Map Company, the best known of the U.S. fire-insurance map producers, has made maps since 1867. The fire insurance maps produced by Sanborn show building footprints, building material, height or number of stories, building use, lot lines, road widths and water facilities. The maps also show street names and property boundaries of the time. This collection of maps is historically significant as it is sometimes the best detailed map of a town or city dating from the mid 1800s. Also see the Union List of Sanborn & Other Fire Insurance Maps External for the most comprehensive list of maps that are known to exist. The include maps at the Library of Congress as well as other repositories.

Military Papers

Documents created as part of a soldier's military service or by the government in time of war reveal details and historical context pertinent to family and local history.

Confederate States of America Records
The records of the Confederate States of America span the years 1854-1889, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1861-1865, during the Civil War in America. The collection relates to the formation of the government of the Confederacy and the conduct of its internal, external, and military affairs. With few exceptions, the collection consists of official or semiofficial records generated by departments of the Confederate government and their agents. The departments of state, justice, treasury, navy, war, and the post office are represented, along with material relating to the president, congress, and constitution.

Newspapers

Historic newspapers provide important content for historical and genealogical research.

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
Chronicling America contains millions of word-searchable newspaper pages from 1756-1963, covering the United States and Territories. The headlines, articles, and advertisements capture the life and times of the American people, shining new light on historic events as they unfolded. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries
Use the Directory of U.S. Newspapers to find information about American newspapers published from 1690-present.

To search the Directory, click the "Collection Item" tab and then choose "Advanced Search." Once you generate the search results, click on each entry to learn more. Go to the "Libraries That Have It" tab to discover which repositories house the archives.

Personal Papers of Georgia Residents

The Library's manuscript collections provide a wealth of research materials related to important individuals in state and local history.

Alexander Hamilton Stephens Papers
The papers of Alexander Hamilton Stephens (1812-1883), lawyer, journalist, governor of Georgia, member of both houses of the United States Congress, and vice president of the Confederate States of America, span the years 1784-1886, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1850-1883. The collection consists primarily of correspondence, supplemented by an autobiography and journal and miscellaneous memoranda, legal documents, and clippings. The papers are organized in three series: General Correspondence, Letters from Servants, and Autobiography and Journal.
Lewis H. Machen Family Papers
The Gresham family material in the Lewis H. Machen Family Papers consists of seven diaries kept by Georgia teenager LeRoy Wiley Gresham (1847-1865) during the Civil War, and approximately 550 items of correspondence, primarily letters exchanged by members his family's inner circle. Among the principal figures represented, all from Macon, Georgia, are John Jones Gresham, an attorney, judge, and plantation owner; his wife Mary Baxter Gresham; and their children, Thomas, LeRoy, and Minnie.

Prints and Photographs

The Library of Congress has digitized a wealth of unique and historical visual materials important when researching local and family history. Search the digitized print and photographic collections to view images related to the state's history, locations, events, and people.

Collections

Lomax Collection
The collection includes 400 snapshot photographs made in the course of sound recording expeditions carried out by John Avery Lomax, Alan Lomax, and Ruby Terrill Lomax, between 1934 and ca. 1950 for the Archive of American Folk-Song. The photographs, which were transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division from the Archive of American Folk-Song in 1950, depict African American, Mexican American, and white musicians, singers and dancers, primarily in the southern United States (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia) and the Bahamas (Nassau, Andros Island, and Cat Island). In addition to posed portraits, the images show musicians performing in various settings: at home, in concert, and while performing prison labor outdoors. Views of children engaged in singing games, scenes of daily life, and some landscape views are also included.

Research Guides

Using Local and Family History Photographs to Tell the Stories of Your Ancestors
This guide offers research strategies to search the Library of Congress print and digital collections for photographs that focus the lens on your family and strengthen your genealogical research.

The Teacher's Page

The resources on this site are designed for teachers of elementary through high school teachers and students.

Primary Source Set: Alabama
The extensive collections at the Library of Congress contain historic artifacts and cultural materials from across the U.S. This list is just a sample of the many Alabama resources available for free on the Library's Web site.

Today in History

These web pages highlight important events connected to particular dates in history.

The Weeping Time - March 3, 1859
On March 3, 1859, journalist Q. K. Philander Doesticks (Mortimer Thomson) attended an auction of 436 men, women, and children formerly held by Pierce M. Butler. Butler’s slaves were auctioned in order to pay debts incurred in gambling and the financial crash of 1857-58.

Veteran's History Project

The Veterans History Project (VHP) collects and preserves the remembrances of American war veterans and civilian workers who supported them.

Veteran's History Project: Georgia

Georgia: Local History & Genealogy Resource Guide

Local History & Genealogy: Ask a Librarian