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Community History Archives

Community History Archive Partner

High Point Public Library

High Point, North Carolina

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

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Explore publications and collections from the past.

1980 to 1984Dates represented

See individual titles for available dates.

114,122Archive pages

Historical pages reported for this collection.

Explore local history

Discover the people, places, and stories of High Point, North Carolina.

Get to know High Point, North Carolina in earlier years through the newspapers shared in the High Point Public Library's digital archive. The archive includes The High Point Enterprise, with material from 1980 to 1984.

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

    From High Point Public Library’s collection: “The High Point Enterprise”.

  • Free and open access

    No subscription or payment required.

  • Ways to explore

    Read the material in its own context. Keep any date and identifying details with your research notes.

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

Explore The High Point Enterprise through 114,122 digitized pages, with material from 1980 to 1984. A partnership between High Point Public Library and Advantage Archives makes this collection available. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.

Start with one question, then read this source with its dates in mind.

The High Point Enterprise

114,122 pages from 1980 to 1984

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About the Archive

About The High Point Public Library’s History Archives

The High Point Public Library provides free and open access to local history through its Community History Archive, allowing residents, researchers, and genealogists to explore primary sources that document the people, places, and events of High Point and the surrounding Piedmont Triad region. Through a partnership with Advantage Archives , the archive serves as a searchable platform that delivers practical online access to historical newspapers at no cost. The archive includes digitized newspaper content spanning the late 19th century through the modern era, including publications such as The High Point Enterprise , which dates back to 1885 and documents community life across generations. These materials preserve firsthand accounts and provide a snapshot of time that reflects “history as it happened,” supporting genealogy, research, and community engagement.

High Point Public Library photo 1

About the Library

About The High Point Public Library

The High Point Public Library, located at 901 North Main Street in High Point, North Carolina, serves as a central educational resource and community hub dedicated to lifelong learning and accessibility. The library provides access to books, digital collections, research databases, and public technology, along with programs that support literacy and engagement for all ages. Its genealogy and local history services include access to specialized records, archival materials, and research tools, including its designation as a FamilySearch affiliate library, which expands access to otherwise restricted genealogical records.

Library History

The History Of The High Point Public Library

The High Point Public Library developed alongside the city’s growth as an industrial and commercial center in North Carolina. As High Point expanded rapidly during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly with the rise of the furniture industry, public institutions such as libraries became essential for education, research, and community connection. Over time, the library expanded its collections and services, incorporating local history preservation and digital access initiatives that reflect a shared responsibility to make historical content more accessible and discoverable for future generations.

About the Community

About High Point, North Carolina

High Point is a city located in Guilford County and is widely known as the “Furniture Capital of the World” due to its long-standing role in furniture manufacturing and design. The city’s growth accelerated in the late 19th century with the expansion of the railroad and the development of furniture factories, making it a major industrial center in the Piedmont region. Today, High Point continues to serve as an economic and cultural hub, hosting the internationally recognized High Point Market and preserving its history through museums, libraries, and archival collections.

Local History

Did You Know?

Did you know that High Point became the leading furniture manufacturing center in the southern United States by the early 20th century? By 1900, dozens of furniture factories operated in the city, and by the 1920s, High Point was hosting major furniture exhibitions that attracted buyers from across the country, shaping its identity as a global hub for furniture design and production.

More ways to explore and share local history

Research Guidance

Read a report in its time and place

Start with something you would like to understand about the past of High Point. It might be a person, a neighborhood or an event remembered in your family. Use the digital archive shared by the High Point 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. Check nearby issues or another listed newspaper when available. Differences in timing and wording can add perspective to a story, while the issue date and surrounding articles help show what kind of account you are reading.

Follow a promising report into a nearby issue or another title where available. Compare dates and surrounding coverage; a single account is one perspective on a story. Use the surrounding account to shape your next question, while keeping each source's perspective distinct.

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

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Community Partnership

Keeping local history a community resource

This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the High Point 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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