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Community History Archives

Community History Archive Partner

Remsen Public Library

Remsen, Iowa

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

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9Titles

Explore publications and collections from the past.

1887 to 2025Dates represented

See individual titles for available dates.

123,744Archive pages

Historical pages reported for this collection.

Explore local history

Discover the people, places, and stories of Remsen, Iowa.

Discover another side of Remsen, Iowa through newspapers preserved in the Remsen Public Library's digital archive. Its nine titles include material from 1887 to 2025.

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

    A selection from Remsen Public Library: “Die Remsen Glocke” and “The Semi-Weekly Bell”.

  • 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.

The reporting of earlier years offers a way to explore how events were understood as they happened and how local experiences became part of the historical record. A family story, a classroom project or curiosity about a familiar place can lead to a closer look at the community and the lives of earlier generations. Explore the archive online for free, without a subscription.

Explore the collection

Titles in this collection

Browse nine titles and 123,744 digitized pages, with material from 1887 to 2025. Through a partnership with Advantage Archives, Remsen Public Library shares these sources from the past. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.

A family story or a question about a familiar place can lead somewhere unexpected. Browse the titles below and see which detail draws you in.

Die Remsen Glocke

322 pages from 1887 to 1889

Manly Signal

1,480 pages from 1990 to 1992

Paullina Times

2,262 pages from 1988 to 1990

Remsen Bell Enterprise

113,366 pages from 1901 to 2025

The Remsen Bell

208 pages from 1896 to 1897

The Remsen Enterprise

1,002 pages from 1900 to 1901

The Remsen News

1,908 pages from 1907 to 1910

The Remsen Weekly Bell

2,830 pages from 1897 to 1900

The Semi-Weekly Bell

366 pages in 1900

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About the Library

About The Remsen Public Library

Welcome to the Remsen Public Library. The library is your one-stop source for all of your informational needs. We have a large selection of books, magazines, newspapers, and electronic resources available to be checked out by our library cardholders. The Remsen Public Library is dedicated to providing equal access to technology and print for the education, enjoyment, and enlightenment of all the people of the community. Established with a mission to serve the informational needs of its patrons, the library continuously evolves to meet the changing demands of the digital age while preserving the rich history of Remsen.

Remsen Public Library photo 1

Library History

The History Of The Remsen Public Library

The Remsen Public Library has a storied history, rooted in its commitment to community service and education. Since its inception, the library has grown significantly, both in its collection and its reach. The library's archives reflect the diverse history of Remsen and its surrounding areas, capturing moments of local significance through various publications. The library's development has been marked by continuous efforts to expand access to resources, including the introduction of digital catalogs and online archives, making it easier for patrons to discover and engage with historical content.

About the Community

About Remsen, Iowa

Remsen, located in Plymouth County, Iowa, is a community rich in cultural heritage and historical significance. Founded in the late 19th century, Remsen has evolved from a small agricultural town to a vibrant community known for its strong German roots. The town is celebrated for its annual Oktoberfest, which attracts visitors from across the region, highlighting Remsen's unique cultural traditions. Remsen's history is preserved through its various historical sites and community events, providing a "snapshot of time" that reflects the town's growth and development over the years.

Local History

Did You Know?

• Remsen hosts one of the longest-running Oktoberfest celebrations in Iowa, celebrating its German heritage with traditional music, food, and dance. • The Remsen Public Library was one of the first in Plymouth County to offer a digital catalog system, enhancing accessibility to its extensive collections. • The town of Remsen is named after Dr. William Remsen Smith, one of the early settlers and a prominent figure in the community's history. • Die Remsen Glocke, one of the earliest newspapers in the archive, was a German-language publication that served the local German-speaking community from 1887 to 1889.

More ways to explore and share local history

Research Guidance

Compare accounts as you trace a story

The history of Remsen includes individual lives as well as events remembered by the wider community. In the digital archive shared by the Remsen Public Library, begin with a name, place or date connected with the story you want to explore. 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. Use a report's date to look for earlier or later coverage where those issues are available. Compare what each account says and what it leaves out, treating a related mention as a lead rather than a complete history.

Compare each newspaper account with a nearby dated issue where available, noting what changes or stays consistent. Keep alternate versions and unresolved details visible rather than blending distinct sources into one story. Use those differences to frame a next question, not to settle the account before the sources support it.

Keep source details beside each quotation or observation. If accounts differ, preserve both references and note what remains unresolved. Let the evidence, rather than a smooth retelling, show where the sources agree and where the story is still open.

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Community Partnership

Keeping local history a community resource

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