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Community History Archives

Community History Archive Partner

Eagle Grove Public Library

Eagle Grove, Iowa

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

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14Titles

Explore publications and collections from the past.

1882 to 2019Dates represented

See individual titles for available dates.

269,866Archive pages

Historical pages reported for this collection.

Explore local history

Discover the people, places, and stories of Eagle Grove, Iowa.

Get to know Eagle Grove, Iowa in earlier years through the newspapers shared in the Eagle Grove Public Library's digital archive. Its fourteen titles include material from 1882 to 2019.

You can open the archive using the link below.
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  • Selected titles

    Examples from Eagle Grove Public Library’s collection include “Boone Valley Gazette” and “Woolstock News”.

  • 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.

Historical newspapers can connect a family name with the events and everyday concerns of an earlier time, offering more than a date or a name on its own. Bring a family connection, a question about a familiar place or an interest in local history, and see where the sources lead. Explore the archive online for free, without a subscription.

Explore the collection

Titles in this collection

Browse fourteen titles and 269,866 digitized pages, with material from 1882 to 2019. A partnership between Eagle Grove Public Library and Advantage Archives makes this collection available. 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.

Boone Valley Gazette

9,140 pages from 1882 to 1898

Boone Valley Telephone

144 pages in 1882

Eagle Grove Eagle

206,110 pages from 1895 to 2019

Eagle Grove Eagle Consolidated With Eagle Grove Times And Goldfield Chronicle

3,520 pages from 2017 to 2018

Eagle Grove Times

2,490 pages from 1888 to 1898

Eagle Grove Times And Gazette

84 pages in 1921

Eagle Grove Times Gazette

4,400 pages from 1916 to 1920

Evening Times

420 pages in 1901

Goldfield Booster

730 pages from 1929 to 1931

Goldfield Chronicle

11,574 pages from 1893 to 1924

Goldfield Gazette

11,946 pages from 1931 to 1948

Times Gazette

18,972 pages from 1898 to 1916

Weekly Telephone

16 pages in 1882

Woolstock News

320 pages from 1897 to 1914

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About the Library

About The Eagle Grove Public Library

The Eagle Grove Public Library serves as a cornerstone of the community in Eagle Grove, Iowa, providing essential educational, informational, and recreational resources to its patrons. The library has evolved over the years, continually adapting to meet the needs of its community members. Founded around 1885, the library initially operated as a subscription library housed in the post office. In 1901, a significant donation of 250 books from an insurance and investment company in Des Moines, spurred by a local advertising campaign, marked the beginning of the library's growth. These books were initially kept in the Masonic Hall before the library found a permanent home.

Eagle Grove Public Library photo 1

Library History

The History Of The Eagle Grove Public Library

The Eagle Grove Public Library has a rich history that reflects the community's commitment to learning and literacy. Starting as a subscription library in the post office around 1885, the library received a pivotal boost in 1901 when a Des Moines-based insurance and investment company donated 250 books to the town. This donation followed a successful local advertising campaign that encouraged citizens to purchase the company's bonds. These initial books were housed in the Masonic Hall, setting the stage for the library's eventual establishment as a central hub for knowledge and community activities. Over the years, the library has expanded its collections and services, continuously adapting to the changing needs of its patrons while preserving its historical roots.

About the Community

About Eagle Grove, Iowa

Eagle Grove, located in Wright County, Iowa, is a community with a rich history and a strong sense of community spirit. Known for its agricultural heritage and close-knit community, Eagle Grove offers a welcoming environment for both residents and visitors. The town has a vibrant history that is closely tied to the development of the local library, which has served as a cultural and educational hub for over a century. The Eagle Grove Public Library continues to play a vital role in fostering community engagement and lifelong learning.

Eagle Grove Public Library photo 2

Local History

Did You Know?

Did you know that the Eagle Grove Public Library's first collection of 250 books was donated by an insurance and investment company from Des Moines? This initial donation in 1901 was a result of a local advertising campaign that encouraged residents to buy the company's bonds, showcasing the community's early commitment to building a robust library.

More ways to explore and share local history

Research Guidance

Check a text match against the page

Start with something you would like to understand about the past of Eagle Grove. It might be a person, a neighborhood or an event remembered in your family. Use the digital archive shared by the Eagle Grove Public Library to follow that question into the historical record. 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.

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Community Partnership

Keeping local history a community resource

This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Eagle Grove 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.
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