Skip to content
Community History Archives

Community History Archive Partner

Crawford County Public Library

English, Indiana

Explore this community history collection to discover the people, places, organizations, and events of English.

Explore the Archive Institution Website
8Titles

Explore publications and collections from the past.

1838 to 2025Dates represented

See individual titles for available dates.

68,228Archive pages

Historical pages reported for this collection.

Explore local history

Discover the people, places, and stories of English, Indiana.

Explore the past of English, Indiana through newspapers in the Crawford County Public Library's digital archive. Its eight titles include material from 1838 to 2025.

You can open the archive using the link below.
Partner image, not an archive preview
 Explore the Archive

Opens in a new tab.

  • Selected titles

    Examples from Crawford County Public Library’s collection include “Clarion News” and “The Marengo Observer”.

  • Free and open access

    No subscription or payment required.

  • 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.

Reporting from the time can reveal how people described the events, work and concerns of their day, placing a local story within the history unfolding around it. Whether you are tracing a family connection, exploring a local event or sharing history with a class, there is more to discover than names and dates alone. Explore the archive online for free, without a subscription.

Explore the collection

Titles in this collection

Browse eight titles and 68,228 digitized pages, with material from 1838 to 2025. This collection is shared through Crawford County Public Library's partnership with Advantage Archives. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.

Start with a detail you already know, then browse the titles below for another perspective on the people and places connected with this collection.

Clarion News

21,160 pages from 2013 to 2025

Crawford County Democrat

1,438 pages from 1925 to 1961

Hard Times

1,636 pages from 1979 to 1980

Leavenworth Arena

1,216 pages from 1838 to 1841

The English News

18,946 pages from 1900 to 1951

The Marengo Messenger

4,470 pages from 1935 to 1950

The Marengo Observer

272 pages from 1895 to 1920

The News Messenger

19,090 pages from 1952 to 1974

Explore the Archive (opens in a new tab)

Opens in a new tab.

About the Archive

About the Crawford County Public Library’s Digital Archives

The Crawford County Public Library offers free and open access to its digital archive—bringing together historical photographs, newspapers, family files, and other local history materials—as an educational and genealogical resource. In partnership with the Crawford County Historical & Genealogical Society and Advantage Archives, the library supports a shared commitment to preserving firsthand accounts and making “history as it happened” accessible online.

Crawford County Public Library photo 1

Local History

Local History & Genealogy Collections

  • Memories of Crawford County Digital Collection—over 1,000 digitized photographs, postcards, and community artifacts available remotely via Indiana Memory
  • Microfilm Newspapers—Crawford County papers dating back to 1838 viewable via in-library microfilm reader
  • Yearbooks, Cemetery Files & Family Histories—part of the specialized genealogy collection accessible in the Indiana Room
  • Ancestry and Fold3—library-only subscriptions providing census, military, and vital records via onsite access
  • Local Archives—early official marriage and probate records housed in the Archives Building (former Dollar General) on Indiana 64, operated by volunteers

About the Library

About the Crawford County Public Library

Located at **203 Indiana Ave, English, IN 47118**, the Crawford County Public Library serves as a vital educational resource for Crawford County residents. It offers free library cards, public computers, Wi-Fi, interlibrary loan, meeting room access, and a dedicated Indiana Room for genealogical research. Hours: Tue–Wed–Thu 9 AM–6 PM; Fri 9 AM–4 PM; Sat 9 AM–3 PM. Closed Sunday & Monday. Contact: 812-338-2606

About the Archive

The History of the Library & Archives Partnership

In collaboration with the Crawford County Historical & Genealogical Society—which aims to collect, preserve, and promote the county’s history—the library has expanded its role beyond lending services to become a resource and outreach hub for local historical collections and genealogical support.

About the Community

About English & Crawford County, Indiana

English, Indiana—formerly Hartford until its incorporation in 1884—is the county seat of Crawford County. Located in southern Indiana along the Ohio River, the town had approximately 685 residents as of the 2020 census. Crawford County was formed in 1818 from parts of Harrison, Orange, and Perry counties, and remains rich in natural landscapes and rural heritage.

Local History

Did You Know?

The Crawford County Historical & Genealogical Society archives—run by volunteers—are housed just a half-mile from the library. They offer vital local resources such as marriage & probate records in the archives building, while birth and death records are available at the county Health Department across the street. Explore the full spectrum of local history—photographs, newspapers, family files, and archival records—online at: Crawford County Public Library Digital Archives .

More ways to explore and share local history

Research Guidance

Check a text match against the page

A family name, a familiar street or a story passed down through generations can lead to a closer look at the history of English. The digital archive shared by the Crawford County Public Library offers a place to begin. 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. If a search result looks incomplete or misspelled, inspect the scanned page when available. Record the issue date and page, then distinguish the printed wording from search text before following the story to another mention.

If a text match looks incomplete, compare it with the scanned newspaper page when available. Check whether wording or names differ, then record the page's printed wording with the issue date and page. Keep the search result distinct from what the page itself shows.

As you connect materials, note where each detail came from and what it can support. Record the title, date, and page or item reference where available. Keep names and relationships tentative until the evidence is strong enough to connect them, and mark which words come from the record and which are your interpretation.

Review collection titles

Community Partnership

Keeping local history a community resource

This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Crawford County 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
Read All About It

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.

Newest published articles

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.
Read article
Back to top