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Community History Archives

Community History Archive Partner

Johnson Public Library

Hackensack, New Jersey

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

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15Titles

Explore publications and collections from the past.

1816 to 1938Dates represented

See individual titles for available dates.

101,380Archive pages

Historical pages reported for this collection.

Explore local history

Discover the people, places, and stories of Hackensack, New Jersey.

Explore the past of Hackensack, New Jersey through newspapers in the Johnson Public Library's digital archive. Its fifteen titles include material from 1816 to 1938.

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

    Selected titles from Johnson Public Library include “Bergen County Democrat” and “The News Record”.

  • Free and open access

    No subscription or payment required.

  • A closer look

    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 fifteen titles and 101,380 digitized pages, with material from 1816 to 1938. This collection is shared through Johnson 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.

Bergen County Democrat

29,938 pages from 1861 to 1919

Bergen County Journal

904 pages from 1858 to 1860

Bergen County Watchman

16 pages in 1873

Bergen Express And Paterson Advertiser

32 pages from 1818 to 1819

Bergen Index

15,276 pages from 1873 to 1895

New Jersey Republican

204 pages in 1878

New Jersey Republican And Bergen County Watchman

432 pages from 1873 to 1874

The Bee And Paterson Advertiser

24 pages in 1816

The Bergen County Journal

904 pages from 1858 to 1860

The Bergen News

5,806 pages from 1912 to 1914

The Bergen News And The Bergen County Democrat

5,136 pages from 1912 to 1913

The Hackensack Republican

40,846 pages from 1878 to 1938

The Hackensack Star And Bergen Farmer

12 pages in 1824

The New Jersey Citizen

1,706 pages from 1871 to 1874

The News Record

144 pages in 1913

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About the Archive

About the Johnson Public Library’s Digital Archives

The Johnson Public Library offers free and open access to its digitized collection of historical newspapers, obituary indexes, city directories, and local history materials, delivering an educational resource that allows the community to explore Hackensack’s collective history. In partnership with Advantage Archives , the library makes these primary sources discoverable and accessible—reflecting a shared responsibility to preserve “history as it happened.”

Johnson Public Library photo 1

About the Library

About the Johnson Public Library

Located at 274 Main Street in Hackensack, New Jersey, the Johnson Public Library serves a population of approximately 43,010 residents, housing around 171,660 volumes and circulating nearly 188,539 items annually. The library is fine-free and provides services including public computers, Wi‑Fi, interlibrary loan, meeting rooms, Books‑by‑Mail, and access to specialized databases such as HeritageHub, New Jersey laws, Academic Search Premier, and more.

Johnson Public Library photo 2

Library History

The History of the Johnson Public Library

Established in 1901 through a gift from State Senator William M. Johnson—who donated the land, funded construction, staff salaries, and book acquisitions—the Johnson Public Library was created to serve the Hackensack community as a free public library. Selected as “Best Library in Bergen County” in 2023, the library continues to embody its mission to foster discovery, learning, and community connections.

About the Community

About Hackensack, New Jersey

Hackensack, the county seat of Bergen County, is the most populous municipality in the county, with an estimated population of around 45,736 residents as of 2023. Located roughly 12 miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan, Hackensack has roots dating to the 17th century and is known for its role as a transportation and cultural hub in the region.

Local History

Did You Know?

The library’s local history holdings include a homemade obituary index (1901–1984) tied to hiring long-time City Hall clerks and the Hackensack Cemetery, founded by the same civic leaders who organized the Johnson Library. Notable local figure Nellie K. Morrow Parker—Bergen County’s first African American schoolteacher—was the daughter of John Morrow, a janitor at the library in its early decades. To explore more collections, browse local directories, newspapers, and genealogical records, visit the Digital Archives: Johnson Public Library Digital Archives .

More ways to explore and share local history

Research Guidance

Read a report in its time and place

A family name, a familiar street or a story passed down through generations can lead to a closer look at the history of Hackensack. The digital archive shared by the Johnson Public Library 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. 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.

Review collection titles

Community Partnership

Keeping local history a community resource

This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Johnson 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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