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Community History Archives

Community History Archive Partner

Helen Plum Library & Lombard Historical Society

Lombard, Illinois

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

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11Titles

Explore publications and collections from the past.

1887 to 1977Dates represented

See individual titles for available dates.

162,952Archive pages

Historical pages reported for this collection.

Explore local history

Discover the people, places, and stories of Lombard, Illinois.

Explore the past of Lombard, Illinois through newspapers in the Helen Plum Library & Lombard Historical Society's digital archive. Its eleven titles include material from 1887 to 1977.

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

    In the collection shared by Helen Plum Library & Lombard Historical Society, you will find “Bizzy Bee” and “Third Rail Flashes”.

  • 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 eleven titles and 162,952 digitized pages, with material from 1887 to 1977. This collection is shared through Helen Plum Library & Lombard Historical Society's partnership with Advantage Archives. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.

If you are tracing a family connection or exploring local history, the titles below offer a place to begin and a thread to follow.

Bizzy Bee

1,236 pages from 1969 to 1971

Lombard Spectator

Page count not currently available dates not yet available

Lombardian

15,308 pages from 1975 to 1977

The Lombard Breeze

32 pages in 1912

The Lombard Gazette

16 pages in 1887

The Lombard News

520 pages from 1901 to 1918

The Lombard Press

440 pages from 1915 to 1933

The Lombard Spectator

145,308 pages from 1927 to 1977

The Press Publications

32 pages in 1951

The Villa Park Argus

28 pages in 1958

Third Rail Flashes

32 pages from 1912 to 1915

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About the Archive

About the Helen Plum Library & Lombard Historical Society’s Digital Archives

The Helen Plum Library & Lombard Historical Society offer free and open access to digitized newspapers, oral histories, historic photographs, manuscripts, and civic records—serving as an educational resource for researchers, genealogists, and local residents exploring Lombard’s collective history. In partnership with Advantage Archives , these institutions share a commitment to preserving firsthand perspectives and making “history as it happened” discoverable and usable.

Helen Plum Library & Lombard Historical Society photo 1

Local History

Local History Resources

  • Suburban Life Newspaper Collection – full-color pages and searchable text providing coverage of Lombard news and events. Accessible remotely 24/7.
  • Daily Herald Collection – comprehensive eNewspaper archive capturing DuPage County’s broader local history. Also available remotely 24/7.
  • Lombard Historical Society Catalog It Hub – includes oral histories, historic photographs, manuscript documents, Little Orphan Annie memorabilia, and other archival materials.

These digital collections serve as a portal to Lombard’s past—preserving cultural assets and providing practical online access to local primary documents, photographs, and community narratives.

Helen Plum Library & Lombard Historical Society photo 2

About the Library

About the Helen Plum Library & Lombard Historical Society

Located in the heart of Lombard, Illinois, the Helen Plum Library and the Lombard Historical Society collaborate as stewards of local history. The library supports community literacy and digital engagement, while the Historical Society curates and shares archival records and exhibitions. Together, they connect users to a deeper understanding of place and identity.

Helen Plum Library & Lombard Historical Society photo 3

Library History

The History of the Library & Community Legacy

The first public library in Lombard began in 1905 inside the First Church. In 1927, following Colonel William R. Plum’s passing, his estate became the Helen M. Plum Memorial Library and Lilacia Park—cementing a legacy of shared history and civic generosity. Over time, the library expanded, and in April 2023 moved into a new, modern building at 411 S Main Street.

About the Community

About Lombard, Illinois

Lombard, once known as “Babcock’s Grove,” was incorporated in 1869 and is celebrated as “The Lilac Village.” Its heritage includes the Peck Homestead—an Underground Railroad stop—and Lombard's role in women's suffrage, when Ellen Martin voted in 1891—years before national voting rights were established.

Local History

Did You Know?

Lilacia Park, adjacent to the original Plum estate, features over 200 varieties of lilacs and is celebrated each spring with “Lilac Time.” It stands today as a living cultural asset rooted in the Plum family’s legacy. Explore local newspapers, photographs, civic records, and oral histories online via: Visit the Digital Archives .

More ways to explore and share local history

Research Guidance

Look for the story behind a result

A family name, a familiar street or a story passed down through generations can lead to a closer look at the history of Lombard. The digital archive shared by the Helen Plum Library & Lombard Historical Society 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. Search a person, place, or event with a second term, then compare the date and context of each result. A repeated name needs more evidence before it identifies the same person or connects two parts of a story.

After recording the issue and page, search a second term tied to the result and compare the surrounding dates and accounts. Keep matching names provisional until the place and context fit. This can turn one result into a better question without turning a repeated name into a confirmed story.

Capture the title, date, and page or item location for a detail you may want to revisit. Label your interpretation as your reading, not the source's own words. Keep enough context with the note that another reader can retrace it.

Review collection titles

Community Partnership

Keeping local history a community resource

This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Helen Plum Library & Lombard Historical Society, 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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