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Community History Archives

Community History Archive Partner

Westerly Public Library

Westerly, Rhode Island

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

Explore the Archive Institution Website
6Titles

Explore publications and collections from the past.

1858 to 1958Dates represented

See individual titles for available dates.

397,994Archive pages

Historical pages reported for this collection.

Explore local history

Discover the people, places, and stories of Westerly, Rhode Island.

Discover another side of Westerly, Rhode Island through newspapers preserved in the Westerly Public Library's digital archive. Its six titles include material from 1858 to 1958.

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

    In the collection shared by Westerly Public Library, you will find “Narragansett Westerly Weekly” and “Watch Hill Life”.

  • 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 six titles and 397,994 digitized pages, with material from 1858 to 1958. Through a partnership with Advantage Archives, Westerly Public Library shares these sources from the past. 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.

Narragansett Westerly Weekly

10,034 pages from 1881 to 1899

The Narragansett Weekly

9,816 pages from 1858 to 1881

The Westerly Daily Sun

53,010 pages from 1893 to 1957

The Westerly Sun

321,274 pages from 1905 to 1958

Watch Hill Life

1,828 pages from 1894 to 1912

Westerly Daily Tribune

2,032 pages from 1888 to 1889

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About the Archive

About The Westerly Public Library’s History Archives

The Westerly Public Library provides free access to historical materials through its partnership with Advantage Archives . The collection list on this page includes 6 publication entries. This valuable resource supports community engagement and serves as an essential tool for research and genealogy.

Westerly Public Library photo 1

About the Library

About The Westerly Public Library

The Westerly Library and Wilcox Park is a private non-profit institution owned and operated by the Memorial and Library Association of Westerly. Established in 1892, the library commemorates the volunteer soldiers and sailors who fought in the Civil War. It opened in 1894, thanks to local industrialist Stephen Wilcox, who donated the land and funding.

Library History

The History Of The Westerly Public Library

Originally featuring a bowling alley and art gallery, the library has undergone several additions over the years, including a significant expansion in 1994. Today, the library offers a diverse collection totaling over 287,000 items and participates in a statewide automated network.

About the Community

About The Town of Westerly

Westerly, Rhode Island, is known for its rich history and scenic coastal views. The town features various cultural and recreational opportunities, contributing to its vibrant community spirit.

Local History

Did You Know?

The Westerly Public Library is a hub of resources and technology, offering access to online databases, e-books, and millions of items from library collections across Rhode Island.

More ways to explore and share local history

Research Guidance

Look for the story behind a result

The history of Westerly includes individual lives as well as events remembered by the wider community. In the digital archive shared by the Westerly 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. 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.

Review collection titles

Community Partnership

Keeping local history a community resource

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