Alabama Online Historical Newspapers Summary

The Ancestor Hunt regularly adds and updates new collection links, as well as searches for and fixes broken links.
(This page's most recent update is October 2024)
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Alabama is one of the states that does not have a central online repository for searching historical newspapers. Several states use the Library of Congress Chronicling America site as their main central online site for searching old newspapers. Alabama does have a few online newspapers available on that site. Alabama currently has its online availability from different websites. Many are free and some require a subscription. Below is a list of where the titles are stored and the link so that you can access them. 

There are over 2.000 newspapers that have been published in the Yellowhammer State. But there are quite a few that are indeed available. So go for it – find your Alabama ancestors and all the interesting articles that capture the stories of their lives. 

Please note that I have not always entered the dates that are included in the collections, as I suspect they will change as more items are digitized. Also, I suspect that some of these links may change over time – so if there is a dead link – please use your favorite search engine to find their new location. 

(Recently added links are in BOLD)

Alabama Historical Newspapers

Free Sites:

Statewide Collections:

Chronicling America – Alabama Newspapers 

The Links for Chronicling America go to the new Version 2.0

Google News Archive

Alabama Civil War and Reconstruction Newspapers

  • Advertiser and Register
  • Advocate and American
  • Alabama Beacon
  • Alabama Reporter
  • Alabama State Journal
  • Alabama State Sentinel
  • Army Argus and Crisis
  • Athens Post
  • Autauga Citizen
  • Bangor Broad Axe
  • Birmingham Iron Age
  • Bladon Springs Herald
  • Bluff City Times
  • Butler News
  • Cahaba Gazette
  • Chambers Tribune
  • Charleston Tri-Weekly Courier
  • Cherokee Advertiser
  • Choctaw Herald
  • Christian Herald
  • Claiborne Southerner
  • Clarke County Democrat
  • Clayton Banner 
  • Conecuh-Escambia Star
  • Confederate States
  • Daily Confederation
  • Daily Dispatch
  • Daily Echo
  • Daily Huntsville Confederate
  • Daily Mercury
  • Daily Mississippian
  • Daily Montgomery Ledger
  • Daily Selma Times
  • Daily State Sentinel
  • Democrat
  • Democratic Watchtower
  • East Alabama Monitor
  • Era and Star
  • Eufala Weekly News
  • Eufala Weekly Times
  • Eufaula Express
  • Exponent
  • Florence Gazette
  • Florence Times-Journal
  • Gadsden Times
  • Greenville Advocate
  • Greenville Weekly Advocate
  • Huntsville Confederate
  • Huntsville Weekly Democrat
  • Huntsville Weekly Independent
  • Independent American
  • Independent Monitor
  • Independent Observer
  • Jacksonville Republican
  • Lauderdale Times
  • Livingston Journal
  • Marengo News-Journal
  • Marion Commonwealth
  • Mobile Advertiser and Register
  • Mobile Daily Advertiser and Register
  • Mobile Daily News
  • Mobile Daily Tribune
  • Mobile Evening News
  • Mobile Evening Telegraph
  • Mobile Morning News
  • Mobile Register and Advertiser
  • Mobile Republican
  • Mobile Weekly Advertiser
  • Mobile Weekly Register
  • Mobile Weekly Tribune
  • Montgomery Daily Advertiser
  • Montgomery Daily Mail
  • Montgomery Daily Post
  • Montgomery Weekly Advertiser
  • Montgomery Weekly Mail
  • Montgomery Weekly Post
  • Moulton Advertiser
  • North Alabamian
  • North Alabamian and Times
  • Observer
  • Opelika Observer
  • Opelika Weekly Era and Whig
  • Opelika Weekly Locomotive
  • Opelika Weekly Observer
  • Opelika Weekly Times
  • Our Mountain Home
  • Pickens American
  • Russell Register
  • Selma Daily Reporter
  • Selma Evening Reporter
  • Selma Morning Dispatch
  • Selma Morning Reporter
  • Selma Weekly Reporter
  • Shelby Guide
  • Shelby Sentinel
  • South Western Baptist
  • South Western Baptist
  • Southern Advertiser
  • Southern Advocate
  • Southern Argus
  • Southern Champion
  • Southern Home Journal
  • Southern Messenger
  • Southern Plantation
  • Southern Republic
  • Southern Signal
  • Southern Statesman
  • Southern Watchman
  • Spectator
  • Spirit of the South
  • St. Clair Diamond
  • State Rights Advocate
  • The Alabama Beacon
  • The Eutaw Whig and Observer
  • The Independent
  • The Selma Daily Messenger
  • The Weekly Issue
  • Troy Messenger
  • Tuscaloosa Observer
  • Tusekegee Weekly News
  • Union Springs Herald
  • Union Springs Herald and Times
  • Union Springs Times
  • United South
  • Universalist Herald
  • Weekly Advertiser
  • Weekly Advertiser and Register
  • Weekly Montgomery Confederation
  • West Alabamian
  • Wetumpka Spectator
  • Wilcox News and Pacificator

County and Library Collections:

Birmingham Public Library Newspapers

Birmingham Public Library Newspaper Clippings

Bay Minette Public Library

  • The Baldwin Times
  • The Onlooker

Fairhope Public Library

  • Fairhope Courier
  • Eastern Shore Courier
  • The Baldwin Times
  • The Onlooker

Guntersville Public Library Historic Newspapers

  • The Advertiser-Gleam
  • The Guntersville Democrat

Mobile Public Library

  • Inner City News

Huntsville–Madison County Newspaper Index 

Lamar County Newspapers

Marion County Newspapers

Montevallo Collection

Student Collections:

Air University – Maxwell AFB

Alabama State University – Montgomery

Athens State University – Athens

Auburn University – Auburn

Auburn University – Montgomery

Birmingham Southern College – Birmingham

Coffee High School – Florence

Faulkner University – Montgomery

Huntingdon College – Montgomery

Jacksonville State University – Jacksonville

Judson College – Marion

Montevallo High School – Montevallo

Oakwood College – Huntsville

Samford University – Birmingham

Shelton State Community College – Tuscaloosa

Sparkman High School – Harvest

Spring Hill College – Mobile

Troy University – Troy

Tuskeee University – Tuskegee

University of Alabama – Birmingham

University of Alabama – Huntsville

University of Alabama – Tuscaloosa

University of Mobile – Mobile

University of Montevallo – Montevallo

University of North Alabama – Florence

University of South Alabama – Mobile

University of West Alabama – Montgomery

Miscellaneous Collections and Indexes:

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Newspapers 1933-1942

Independent Voices – Alternative Newspapers

  • Left Face
  • Our Thing

Old Fulton Postcards

Small Town Papers

Agriculture and Rural Life Newspapers

Southern School News Archive

For Obituary Indexes, transcriptions, and other death/obituary information from historical newspapers, please check out the Obituaries page.

Other Free Sites:

Aldrich

Birmingham

Columbiana

Dothan

Fort Payne

Jacksonville

Mobile

Montgomery

Rainsville

Subscription or Pay Sites:

Ancestry.com:

There are currently 29 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Ancestry – Alabama Newspapers

Genealogy Bank:

There are currently 159 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Genealogy Bank – Alabama Newspapers

Newspaper Archive:

There are currently 99 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Newspaper Archive – Alabama

Newspapers.com:

There are currently 570 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Newspapers.com – Alabama 

And Finally:

You also need to check out the Alabama Newspapers on Microfilm Database site, which can tell you what is happening in the state with regard to the newspapers that are available via microfilm.

Please note – even more may be available via a local library where a library card is required. And of course, there is always microfilm for those that have not been made available online as yet.

For more links for different states, provinces, and countries – please see the Newspaper Links page on this website.

For all Free Alabama Collection Links in 24 Genealogy Categories, go to the By Location Page, click on Alabama, and then click on the category of interest.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

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