13Titles
Explore publications and collections from the past.
Community History Archive Partner
Electra Public Library
Electra, Texas
Explore this community history collection to discover the people, places, organizations, and events of Electra.
1907 to 2025Dates represented
See individual titles for available dates.
137,800Archive pages
Historical pages reported for this collection.
Explore local history
Discover the people, places, and stories of Electra, Texas.
Explore the past of Electra, Texas through newspapers and census records in the Electra Public Library's digital archive. Its thirteen titles include material from 1907 to 2025.
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Selected titles
The collection from Electra Public Library includes “1930 Federal Census” and “Wichita Falls Record News”.
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Free and open access
No subscription or payment required.
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Different views of the past
A census entry offers one dated view of a household. Its recorded details can help you explore a family connection without proving identity from a name alone. An earlier generation comes into view through the stories its newspapers chose to report, placing familiar names and events within the concerns of their time.
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 thirteen titles and 137,800 digitized pages, with material from 1907 to 2025. This collection is shared through Electra Public Library's partnership with Advantage Archives. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.
Explore the titles below for a closer look at the places, people and everyday life of earlier generations.
1930 Federal Census
2,356 pages in 1930
City Directories
1,920 pages from 1922 to 1950
Electra News
570 pages from 1915 to 1916
Electra Star News
90,022 pages from 1953 to 2025
Harold Howler
40 pages in 1907
Telephone Directories
15,018 pages from 1919 to 2006
The Electra Daily News
2,202 pages from 1913 to 1914
The Electra Leader
14 pages in 1918
The Electra News
12,664 pages from 1912 to 1947
The Electra Star
11,012 pages from 1921 to 1953
The News Electra
12 pages in 1914
The Town Tattler
1,946 pages from 1932 to 2000
Wichita Falls Record News
24 pages in 1945
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Partner Story
Census Records
- 1930 Federal Census (1930)
About the Library
About The Electra Public Library
The Electra Public Library, located at 401 N. Waggoner, provides free services to all residents living within a 20-mile radius of the city limits, covering parts of Wichita and Wilbarger counties. The library system boasts a collection of over 21,760 materials, including books, audiobooks, DVDs, and Blu-ray movies. Public computers and WiFi access are available during library hours, and eBooks are available through the North Texas Library Digital Consortium. The library's mission is to promote, coordinate, and facilitate communication and resource sharing, delivering quality library information and services to the community. The goals include improving the library's collection, enhancing service expertise, developing programs for residents, and promoting the sharing of informational, educational, and cultural resources.
Library History
The History Of The Electra Public Library
The Electra Public Library was founded in 1925, thanks to the efforts of the P.T.A. and community members who raised funds and gathered books. Initially housed in a small building on the First Ward School grounds, the library opened with 5,000 books. Despite plans for a permanent building being halted by the Great Depression, the library continued to serve the community from various locations. The library moved to its current location in 1967. In 1997, Dink Robb funded the expansion of the library, adding a new children's section and creating an endowment to support ongoing operations. The library has consistently worked with the City of Electra, the Electra Public Library Board, and the Friends of the Electra Public Library to maintain and enhance its services and programs.
About the Community
About Electra, Texas
Electra, Texas, has a rich history tied to the oil boom of the early 20th century. Named after the daughter of cattle baron W.T. Waggoner, Electra quickly grew as an oil town. The discovery of oil in 1911 brought prosperity and rapid development, earning the city the nickname "Pump Jack Capital of Texas." The city continued to thrive due to its strategic location and the booming oil industry. Today, Electra is a blend of historical charm and modern amenities, offering a unique glimpse into its storied past while looking toward a dynamic future.
Local History
Did You Know?
Electra, Texas, was named after Electra Waggoner, the daughter of local cattle baron W.T. Waggoner. The city gained fame during the early 20th-century oil boom and is known as the "Pump Jack Capital of Texas." The Electra Public Library, established in 1925, has evolved with the community, expanding its services and collections to meet residents' needs.
More ways to explore and share local history
Research Guidance
Trace a name across nearby issues
Start with something you would like to understand about the past of Electra: a person, a neighborhood, or an event remembered in your family or community. Follow that question through the newspaper titles shared by the Electra Public Library to encounter reports from their own time. Consider how an individual story relates to the wider community and the period around it. Search a name with alternate spellings and dates around the event where the archive permits. Read the page around a match, then compare another issue or title if available; a repeated name is a lead to verify, not proof of identity.
If a name does not appear, try an alternate spelling or a related term, then read around any match. Note the issue date and page so a result stays connected to its context. Use those details to follow a story without treating one search result as a complete answer.
Build a trail through the past that someone else can follow: record the title, date, page or item reference, and a link when available. Keep historical quotations distinct from your own interpretation. If accounts disagree, note what each source supports before deciding how the details fit together in a family or community story.
Community Partnership
Keeping local history a community resource
This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Electra 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.
May 7, 2025
Why Microfilm is still important in 2023
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May 7, 2025
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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