13Titles
Explore publications and collections from the past.
Community History Archive Partner
Keokuk County Historical Society
Sigourney, Iowa
Explore this community history collection to discover the people, places, organizations, and events of Sigourney.
1860 to 2011Dates represented
See individual titles for available dates.
224,224Archive pages
Historical pages reported for this collection.
Explore local history
Discover the people, places, and stories of Sigourney, Iowa.
Explore the past of Sigourney, Iowa through newspapers in the Keokuk County Historical Society's digital archive. Its thirteen titles include material from 1860 to 2011.
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Selected titles
In the collection shared by Keokuk County Historical Society, you will find “Delta Press” and “Union Supplement”.
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Free and open access
No subscription or payment required.
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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 thirteen titles and 224,224 digitized pages, with material from 1860 to 2011. This collection is shared through Keokuk County 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.
Delta Press
15,690 pages from 1913 to 1939
Leader
4,160 pages from 1916 to 1921
News
16 pages in 1950
Press
24 pages from 1913 to 1927
Sigourney Review
50,548 pages from 1897 to 1960
Sigourney Weekly News
848 pages from 1866 to 1884
The Keokuk County News
56,752 pages from 1860 to 1960
The News-Review
69,834 pages from 1960 to 2011
The Sigourney News
6,330 pages from 1876 to 1895
The Sigourney News-Review
17,838 pages from 1962 to 1975
The South English Herald
944 pages from 1883 to 1976
The Western Herald
1,236 pages from 1879 to 1881
Union Supplement
4 pages in 1902
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About the Archive
About the Keokuk County Historical Society’s Digital Archives
The Keokuk County Historical Society offers free and open access to its digitized collection of historical newspapers, providing an invaluable educational resource for researchers, genealogists, and community members interested in exploring Keokuk County's collective history. In partnership with Advantage Archives , the society has digitized a significant number of pages spanning from the 19th century to the present. This initiative underscores a shared responsibility to preserve and make accessible the firsthand accounts and perspectives that document history as it happened.
About the Society
About the Keokuk County Historical Society
Located at 402 East Elm Street in Sigourney, Iowa, the Keokuk County Historical Society is dedicated to preserving and sharing the rich history of Keokuk County. The society operates a museum that houses a diverse collection of artifacts, including photographs, quilts, books, maps, and antiques. Additionally, the society maintains a genealogy department with cemetery records and obituaries, providing valuable resources for researchers and community members alike. Learn more about the museum .
Institution History
The History of the Keokuk County Historical Society
Established in 1950, the Keokuk County Historical Society was created to preserve the rich history of Keokuk County. The society is housed in the original courthouse, offering a wide variety of artifacts and displays from the county’s past. The museum houses a large collection of photographs, documents, books, and artifacts from both the Civil War and Keokuk County’s early days. The museum also offers a variety of educational programs, such as lectures, tours, and exhibits, to promote the importance of understanding and preserving Keokuk County’s past. Learn more about the society's history .
About the Community
About Sigourney, Iowa
Sigourney, the county seat of Keokuk County, Iowa, is a city rich in history and cultural heritage. Incorporated in 1844 and named after poet Lydia Sigourney, the city has a population of approximately 2,004 residents as of the 2020 census. Sigourney is known for its historic courthouse square, annual community events, and a strong sense of community. Learn more about Sigourney .
Local History
Did You Know?
The Keokuk County Historical Society Museum houses an extensive genealogy department, including cemetery records, obituaries, and other historical documents. The museum's collection offers a comprehensive glimpse into the county's past, making it an invaluable resource for researchers and history enthusiasts. Explore the museum's resources .
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 Sigourney. The digital archive shared by the Keokuk County 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.
Community Partnership
Keeping local history a community resource
This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Keokuk County 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
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
Preserving documents on microfilm has been a popular method of storage for many years, and it still holds many benefits today. Here…
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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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