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Community History Archives

Community History Archive Partner

Valentine Public Library

Valentine, Nebraska

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

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16Titles

Explore publications and collections from the past.

1883 to 1987Dates represented

See individual titles for available dates.

269,984Archive pages

Historical pages reported for this collection.

Explore local history

Discover the people, places, and stories of Valentine, Nebraska.

Discover another side of Valentine, Nebraska through newspapers preserved in the Valentine Public Library's digital archive. Its sixteen titles include material from 1883 to 1987.

You can open the archive using the link below.
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 Explore the Archive

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  • Selected titles

    Explore titles such as “Cherry County Independent” and “Western News Democrat”, shared by Valentine Public Library.

  • 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.

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 sixteen titles and 269,984 digitized pages, with material from 1883 to 1987. Through a partnership with Advantage Archives, Valentine Public Library shares these sources from the past. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.

Bring a person, place or date you recognize, and browse the titles below for a first clue in the story you want to follow.

Cherry County Independent

128 pages from 1892 to 1896

Cherry County News

24,498 pages from 1930 to 1957

Merriman Maverick

15,100 pages from 1910 to 1928

Nebraska News

3,308 pages from 1912 to 1917

The Cody Cowboy

19,186 pages from 1900 to 1927

The Cody Round Up

3,258 pages from 1936 to 1943

The Crookston Herald

5,858 pages from 1913 to 1921

The Democratic Blade

2,436 pages from 1885 to 1888

The Searchlight

4,122 pages from 1913 to 1918

The Valentine Democrat

26,190 pages from 1896 to 1930

The Valentine Newspaper

79,588 pages from 1958 to 1987

The Valentine Reporter

384 pages from 1883 to 1884

The Wood Lake Steamer

2,224 pages from 1911 to 1914

The Wood Lake Stockman

17,888 pages from 1914 to 1941

Valentine Republican

64,206 pages from 1888 to 1958

Western News Democrat

1,610 pages from 1898 to 1900

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About the Archive

About The Valentine Public Library’s History Archives

The Valentine Public Library offers free and open access to its digitized collection of historical newspapers and genealogical resources, providing an invaluable educational resource for researchers, genealogists, and community members interested in exploring Cherry County's collective history. In partnership with Advantage Archives , the library has digitized a significant number of pages spanning from 1883 to 1987. This initiative underscores a shared responsibility to preserve and make accessible the firsthand accounts and perspectives that document history as it happened.

Valentine Public Library photo 1

About the Library

About The Valentine Public Library

Located at 324 N. Main Street in Valentine, Nebraska, the Valentine 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.

Valentine Public Library photo 2

Library History

The History Of The Valentine Public Library

Established in April 1921 by the P.E.O. Sisterhood, Chapter CA, the Valentine Public Library began with 600 donated books housed in a room at the Cherry County Courthouse. By 1935, the growing collection necessitated a move to the upper floor of the newly built City Hall. In 1968, the current library building was dedicated, providing a modern space to accommodate the expanding needs of the community. Today, the library houses over 30,000 volumes and continues to serve as a vital resource for residents of Valentine and the surrounding areas.

About the Community

About Valentine, Nebraska

Valentine, located in Cherry County, Nebraska, is a city rich in history and cultural heritage. Founded in 1882 with the arrival of the railroad, Valentine quickly became a hub for commerce and transportation in the region. The nearby Fort Niobrara, established in 1880, played a significant role in the area's development, serving as a military post and later as a wildlife refuge. Today, Valentine is known for its natural beauty, including the Niobrara National Scenic River and the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, attracting visitors interested in outdoor recreation and history.

Local History

Did You Know?

Valentine is famously associated with love due to its name. Each year, the city receives thousands of Valentine's Day cards to be postmarked from "Valentine, Nebraska," making it a popular destination for romantic gestures and celebrations.

More ways to explore and share local history

Research Guidance

Follow a report into its setting

The history of Valentine includes individual lives as well as events remembered by the wider community. In the digital archive shared by the Valentine 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. Read the headline and neighboring articles as well as the matching lines. The surrounding page can show whether a report is local news, an editorial, or another kind of account; compare its details with later coverage where available.

Take a place or institution mentioned in a report as a new search lead. Check the issue date and read nearby articles to see how the setting is described. Preserve historical names and boundaries as written, and compare another dated reference before connecting the place to a present-day location.

Record which title, date, page, or item supports a useful lead. Mark unanswered questions before connecting it to a family or community story. A similar name can point you toward another source, but it is not proof of identity.

Review collection titles

Community Partnership

Keeping local history a community resource

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