7Titles
Explore publications and collections from the past.
Community History Archive Partner
Arthur Public Library District
Arthur, Illinois
Explore this community history collection to discover the people, places, organizations, and events of Arthur.
1885 to 2023Dates represented
See individual titles for available dates.
128,984Archive pages
Historical pages reported for this collection.
Explore local history
Discover the people, places, and stories of Arthur, Illinois.
Discover another side of Arthur, Illinois through newspapers preserved in the Arthur Public Library District's digital archive. Its seven titles include material from 1885 to 2023.
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Selected titles
Selected titles from Arthur Public Library District include “Arthur Clarion” and “News Progress”.
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Free and open access
No subscription or payment required.
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A closer look
Newspaper pages connect individual accounts with a wider story, preserving how events were reported and presented to the readers of the day.
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 seven titles and 128,984 digitized pages, with material from 1885 to 2023. Through a partnership with Advantage Archives, Arthur Public Library District shares these sources from the past. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.
Follow a family connection or a question about the community through the titles below and the history they preserve.
Arthur Clarion
280 pages in 1905
Arthur Enterprise
4 pages in 1975
Arthur Graphic
4,458 pages from 1887 to 1905
Arthur Graphic Clarion
124,056 pages from 1905 to 2023
Arthur Signal
20 pages in 1885
Clarion Press
142 pages in 1935
News Progress
24 pages in 1992
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About the Library
About Arthur Public Library District
The library district is dedicated to meeting the educational, recreational, informational, and cultural needs of its community. The library offers a well-organized collection of materials that includes popular titles, programs to stimulate children's interest in reading, and opportunities for lifelong learning. The library prides itself on its well-trained staff and the facility it provides to ensure access to its collections and services.
Library History
The History Of Arthur Public Library District
The library has served the Illinois community with a rich collection of books, materials, and programs. Throughout its history, the library has adapted to meet the changing needs of its patrons by embracing modern technology and collaborating with various local, state, and federal agencies. The library continues to uphold its mission in a fiscally responsible manner, offering valuable resources and fostering a love for learning in all age groups.
More ways to explore and share local history
Research Guidance
Read a report in its time and place
The history of Arthur includes individual lives as well as events remembered by the wider community. In the digital archive shared by the Arthur Public Library District, 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. Check nearby issues or another listed newspaper when available. Differences in timing and wording can add perspective to a story, while the issue date and surrounding articles help show what kind of account you are reading.
Follow a promising report into a nearby issue or another title where available. Compare dates and surrounding coverage; a single account is one perspective on a story. Use the surrounding account to shape your next question, while keeping each source's perspective distinct.
Keep the title, date, page, or item reference with each useful finding. Separate the words in a historical account from your interpretation, and note conflicting perspectives rather than choosing one too quickly. These notes help connect a local story to its evidence and show what remains uncertain.
Community Partnership
Keeping local history a community resource
This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Arthur Public Library District, 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.
May 7, 2025
Why Microfilm is still important in 2023
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Don’t Search For An Obituary By Only Searching For An “Obituary”
In the quest to trace our roots and understand our heritage, obituaries often serve as a crucial starting point. Obituaries are undoubtedly…
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April 9, 2025
Unveiling the Hidden Mysteries: Exploring Cold Cases and Unconventional Clues
Even the most esteemed police forces in the county encounter perplexing cold case files. These unsolved mysteries often leave investigators and genealogists…
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April 1, 2025
This Week in History: March 31st through April 6th
Discover History in The Community History Archives. This week in history, there is absolutely nothing to talk about… April Fools! April…
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March 24, 2025
This Week in History: March 24th through March 30th
Discover History in The Community History Archives. It has officially been a year since I started writing This Week in History,…
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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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