11Titles
Explore publications and collections from the past.
Community History Archive Partner
St. Marys Community Public Library
Saint Marys, Ohio
Explore this community history collection to discover the people, places, organizations, and events of Saint Marys.
1873 to 2002Dates represented
See individual titles for available dates.
583,252Archive pages
Historical pages reported for this collection.
Explore local history
Discover the people, places, and stories of Saint Marys, Ohio.
Get to know Saint Marys, Ohio in earlier years through the newspapers shared in the St. Marys Community Public Library's digital archive. Its eleven titles include material from 1873 to 2002.
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Selected titles
In the collection shared by St. Marys Community Public Library, you will find “Evening Leader” and “The St Marys Graphic”.
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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.
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
Browse eleven titles and 583,252 digitized pages, with material from 1873 to 2002. A partnership between St. Marys Community Public Library and Advantage Archives makes this collection available. 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.
Evening Leader
282,320 pages from 1905 to 1978
The Daily Democrat
2,040 pages in 1896
The Daily News
2,208 pages from 1903 to 1905
The Evening Leader
282,918 pages from 1978 to 2002
The Semi-Weekly Democrat
248 pages in 1897
The St Marys Argus
4,180 pages from 1878 to 1896
The St Marys Argus and Democrat
4,134 pages from 1897 to 1902
The St Marys Commercial
504 pages from 1874 to 1876
The St Marys Courant
500 pages from 1873 to 1874
The St Marys Free Press
256 pages from 1876 to 1877
The St Marys Graphic
3,944 pages from 1891 to 1902
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About the Library
About The St. Marys Community Public Library
Located at 140 S. Chestnut Street in St. Marys, Ohio, the St. Marys Community Public Library is dedicated to serving the informational and educational needs of the community. The library provides a welcoming space for reading, research, and community events, reflecting its commitment to greater access to historical content. Through partnerships and outreach, the library continues to engage the community in preserving and discovering local history.
Library History
The History Of The St. Marys Community Public Library
Established in 1921 by members of the Shakespeare Club, the St. Marys Community Public Library began as a small reading room dedicated to providing correct reading material to the youth of St. Marys. Over the years, the library has evolved to meet the changing needs of its patrons, demonstrating its ongoing commitment to making history more accessible and discoverable. In 1981, a new building was dedicated at its current location, and in 2002, an expansion project was completed to better serve the community.
About the Community
About St. Marys, Ohio
St. Marys, located in Auglaize County, Ohio, is a city rich in history and cultural heritage. The city played a significant role in the development of the Miami and Erie Canal, which contributed to its growth and prosperity in the 19th century. Today, St. Marys continues to honor its past through various historical landmarks and community initiatives that preserve its unique identity.
Local History
Did You Know?
St. Marys is home to the Dr. Issac Elmer Williams House and Office, a pair of buildings constructed in 1903 that exemplify Queen Anne architecture. These structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and serve as a testament to the city's architectural and historical significance.
More ways to explore and share local history
Research Guidance
Look for the story behind a result
Start with something you would like to understand about the past of Saint Marys. It might be a person, a neighborhood or an event remembered in your family. Use the digital archive shared by the St. Marys Community 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. 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 St. Marys Community 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
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
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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
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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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