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Community History Archives

Community History Archive Partner

East Hampton Public Library

East Hampton, Connecticut

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

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3Titles

Explore publications and collections from the past.

1887 to 2004Dates represented

See individual titles for available dates.

59,775Archive pages

Historical pages reported for this collection.

Explore local history

Discover the people, places, and stories of East Hampton, Connecticut.

Explore the past of East Hampton, Connecticut through newspapers as well as yearbooks and annuals in the East Hampton Public Library's digital archive. Its three titles include material from 1887 to 2004.

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

    Selected titles from East Hampton Public Library include “Oracle Yearbooks” and “East Hampton News”.

  • Free and open access

    No subscription or payment required.

  • Different views of the past

    Newspaper pages connect individual accounts with a wider story, preserving how events were reported and presented to the readers of the day. Yearbooks and annuals bring together the people and activities their editors chose to remember, offering a view of life within a particular year.

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 three titles and 59,775 digitized pages, with material from 1887 to 2004. This collection is shared through East Hampton Public Library's partnership with Advantage Archives. 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.

East Hampton News

37,623 pages from 1887 to 1952

Oracle

19,362 pages from 1940 to 1999

Oracle Yearbooks

2,790 pages from 2000 to 2004

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About the Library

About The East Hampton Public Library

The library serves as a vital educational resource and community hub, dedicated to fostering a culture of learning and engagement. With a commitment to making local history and primary sources discoverable, the library provides various programs and outreach initiatives aimed at enhancing community engagement. Through innovative partnerships and a focus on accessibility, the library strives to connect individuals with the resources they need to thrive and grow.

East Hampton Public Library photo 1

Library History

The History Of The East Hampton Public Library

The East Hampton Public Library was established on August 18, 1898, originally as the Chatham Public Library. With a collection of just 1,000 books, it rapidly became a cornerstone of the community. By 1922, the library had expanded its offerings, showcasing a significant growth in patronage and resources. The library was officially renamed the East Hampton Public Library in 1915, reflecting its expanding role in the community. In the decades that followed, the library continued to evolve, culminating in the construction of a new facility that opened in 1986. Today, the library stands as a testament to the town's dedication to education and community engagement, housing over 52,000 volumes and a wide array of electronic resources. It remains a pivotal institution in the town, providing over 400 events and classes annually.

About the Community

About The East Hampton, Connecticut

East Hampton, Connecticut , is a town rich in history and community spirit. Originally established as a farming community, it has developed into a vibrant area that honors its heritage while embracing modern growth. The town is known for its beautiful landscapes and active community engagement, making it a desirable location for residents and visitors alike. The historical significance of East Hampton is reflected in its well-preserved sites and the active role of local institutions, such as the East Hampton Public Library, in preserving and promoting its cultural heritage.

Local History

Did You Know?

East Hampton Public Library not only serves as a repository of knowledge but also plays an active role in community engagement by hosting various programs and events throughout the year. One fun fact is that the library once operated in a building that was formerly a power company office before moving to its current location. This highlights the library's adaptability and commitment to serving the community's evolving needs.

More ways to explore and share local history

Research Guidance

Look beyond a familiar name

The names and activities recorded in a yearbook can point toward school life in East Hampton. Start with an entry in the yearbooks and annuals shared by the East Hampton Public Library, note its year and page, and compare captions or nearby references where available. Keep the volume’s perspective visible and use another source to test a wider family or community connection. School activities and groups changed over time; surviving pages can point toward a period without describing every student's experience.

Where the available dates overlap, use a name, activity, or organization in a yearbook or annual as a starting point for a newspaper search. Compare the details carefully; a similar name is a lead to investigate, not an identification by itself.

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 you connect a local story to its evidence and explain what remains uncertain.

Review collection titles

Community Partnership

Keeping local history a community resource

This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the East Hampton 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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