5Titles
Explore publications and collections from the past.
Community History Archive Partner
Alicia Salinas Public Library
Alice, Texas
Explore this community history collection to discover the people, places, organizations, and events of Alice.
1899 to 2025Dates represented
See individual titles for available dates.
632,766Archive pages
Historical pages reported for this collection.
Explore local history
Discover the people, places, and stories of Alice, Texas.
Discover another side of Alice, Texas through newspapers preserved in the Alicia Salinas Public Library's digital archive. Its five titles include material from 1899 to 2025.
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Selected titles
Alicia Salinas Public Library shares titles including “Alice Echo News” and “The Altus Times-Democrat”.
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Free and open access
No subscription or payment required.
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A closer look
A familiar name or event takes on another dimension in the newspaper coverage of its time, alongside the stories that mattered to the readers of that issue.
The reporting of earlier years offers a way to explore how events were understood as they happened and how local experiences became part of the historical record. A family story, a classroom project or curiosity about a familiar place can lead to a closer look at the community and the lives of earlier generations. Explore the archive online for free, without a subscription.
Explore the collection
Titles in this collection
Browse five titles and 632,766 digitized pages, with material from 1899 to 2025. Through a partnership with Advantage Archives, Alicia Salinas Public Library shares these sources from the past. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.
A familiar name or place can be the beginning of a story. Explore the titles below to see where that connection leads.
Alice Echo News
346,062 pages from 1969 to 2002
Alice Echo News Journal
125,098 pages from 2002 to 2025
The Alice Daily Echo
129,104 pages from 1947 to 1969
The Alice Echo
32,486 pages from 1899 to 1947
The Altus Times-Democrat
16 pages in 1955
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About the Archive
About The Alice Public Library's History Archives
The Alice Public Library proudly provides free access to a digital archive of historical newspapers. This archive spans a century, covering 1899 to 1999, and offers a treasure trove of local history for research and genealogy enthusiasts. The digital archive includes:
- The Alice Echo (1899-1947)
- The Alice Daily Echo (1947-1969)
- The Alice Echo News (1969-1999)
- The Altus Times-Democrat (1955)
This digital archive unlocks the past, bringing the stories of the people, places, and events of Alice and Jim Wells County to the present. The project was made possible through community-based partnerships and grants, ensuring that the community's collective history remains accessible and discoverable. These primary source documents provide firsthand accounts, offering a unique perspective on history as it happened.
About the Library
About The Alice Public Library
The Alice Public Library is an essential educational resource for Jim Wells County, serving the community through its main branch in Alice and the Orange Grove branch. The library boasts a diverse collection of over 60,000 items, including bestselling fiction and non-fiction, biographies, DVDs, audiobooks, large print books, and materials in Spanish. It subscribes to numerous magazines and newspapers and provides access to online resources like the TexShare Databases. The library is committed to fostering community engagement and promoting literacy through various programs and services. With 26 public access computers, the Alice Public Library ensures that all patrons have the tools they need for research, learning, and connecting with the world.
Library History
The History Of The Alice Public Library
Established to serve the growing needs of Alice and its surrounding areas, the Alice Public Library has a rich history of adaptation and growth. The library has continually expanded its services, embracing new technologies to better serve its patrons. The digitization of historical newspapers is a testament to the library's commitment to preserving local history and making it accessible to all. Significant milestones in the library’s history include the establishment of the Orange Grove branch and the development of its digital collections. These initiatives highlight the library’s role as a cultural asset, dedicated to making the collective history of Alice available to everyone.
About the Community
About Alice, Texas
Alice, Texas, known as the "Hub of South Texas," is strategically located 45 miles west of Corpus Christi, 90 miles east of Laredo, and 125 miles north of the Rio Grande Valley. This bi-cultural community serves as a central link between various regions, fostering cultural exchange and economic development. Founded in the late 19th century, Alice has grown into a vibrant community with a rich cultural heritage. The city’s history is preserved in its local newspapers, now digitized and accessible through the Alice Public Library’s archives. These documents provide a snapshot of time, capturing the essence of life in Alice as it unfolded.
Local History
Did You Know?
- Alice is home to the annual Alice International Rodeo, which draws participants and spectators from across the region.
- The city is named after Alice King Kleberg, the daughter of Richard King, founder of the famous King Ranch.
- Alice played a significant role in the development of Tejano music, earning it the nickname "Birthplace of Tejano Music."
More ways to explore and share local history
Research Guidance
Follow a story beyond the first mention
The history of Alice includes individual lives as well as events remembered by the wider community. In the digital archive shared by the Alicia Salinas Public Library, begin with a name, place or date connected with the story you want to explore. When using historical newspapers, try alternate spellings and nearby dates, then read the surrounding page to place a local story in its time. Compare later reporting or another available title to explore different perspectives rather than treating one account as the whole story.
When a promising newspaper lead runs out, check the dates and titles represented before trying another name, place, or nearby issue. Keep unsuccessful searches with useful findings; gaps in coverage can limit what a search reveals. Use the dates and references to shape your next question, not as proof a missing result never existed.
As you piece together a story from the past, note where each detail came from and why it matters. Include the title, date, and page or item reference. Mark uncertain identifications and unanswered questions so a promising connection does not become an unsupported fact.
Community Partnership
Keeping local history a community resource
This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Alicia Salinas Public Library, its community, and Advantage Archives. Together, these partnerships preserve local sources and give people a way to explore, learn from, and share the history around them.
Advantage Archives covers ongoing archive hosting, storage, development, and maintenance. The institution and its community do not pay a subscription, seat license, annual support contract, or other recurring archive-service charge. Local history remains a community resource, not a subscription to maintain.
Would you like to see more of your community's history preserved and accessible? Start a conversation with your library, newspaper publisher, historical or genealogical society, museum, or school about the materials they would like to share and a possible partnership with Advantage Archives.
Learn about partnerships
Stories, research tips, and archive news
Read All About It connects archive research with the people and institutions preserving local history. Explore partner and community stories, project updates, research ideas, and perspectives on digitization, education, and working with primary sources. Use the articles as a starting point for your next question or a new way to share a discovery.
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Unveiling the Hidden Mysteries: Exploring Cold Cases and Unconventional Clues
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This Week in History: March 31st through April 6th
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March 24, 2025
This Week in History: March 24th through March 30th
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March 18, 2025
It’s Your Community’s History, So Why Rent Something You Own?
We believe that history belongs to the communities where it was made - not locked behind paywalls or inaccessible due to budget restrictions. Subscription-based services and large content aggregators are generally more concerned with "content" and less concerned with the history that content contains. Their models typically involve a reoccurring charge for a plan that renews annually or licensing agreements with the library based on population served or circulation numbers. You are essentially Renting Access To YOUR History.
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