California Online Historical Newspapers Summary

California has a sizable state-wide free online collection for searching historical newspapers. Many states use the Library of Congress Chronicling America site as their main central online site for searching old newspapers and currently, California has several newspapers also available on that site. There are free online newspapers available on other sites and there are collections available on subscription sites. Below is a list of where the titles are stored and the link so that you can access them. 

There are over 9,000 newspapers that have been published in the Golden State – certainly not all of them are searchable online. But there are several that are indeed available. So go for it – find your California 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. 

(Updated February 2024; recently added links are in BOLD)

California Historical Newspapers

Free Sites:

Statewide Collections:

Chronicling America – California

Google News Archive

California Digital Newspapers Collection 1846-present

California Revealed

Independent Voices – Alternative Press

  • About Face  – Los Angeles, CA
  • AION – San Francisco, CA
  • AION [San Francisco] – San Francisco, CA
  • All ready on the left – Camp Pendleton, Vista, CA
  • Alliance – San Francisco, CA
  • ALLY, The – Berkeley, CA
  • American Divisional Information Office – San Francisco, CA
  • AMPER&AND – San Francisco, CA
  • Amphora – San Francisco, CA
  • Anti-Brass – Los Angeles, CA
  • As you were – Fort Ord, Monterey, CA
  • Attitude check – Vista, CA
  • Bacon, The – Edgemont, CA
  • Barb on Strike – Berkeley, CA
  • Bay Area Movement for a Democratic Military – Berkeley, CA
  • Berkeley Barb – Berkeley, CA
  • Berkeley Tribe – Berkeley, CA
  • Black Dialog – San Francisco, CA
  • Black Dialogue – San Francisco, CA
  • Black Unity – Camp Pendleton, Vista, CA
  • Blue Suede Shoes – Bellingham, WA; Monterey, CA
  • Bulletin from Nothing – San Francisco, CA
  • Caliban  – Ann Arbor, MI; Laguna Beach, CA
  • California Veteran, The – Van Nuys, CA
  • Calm Before the Storm, The – San Diego, CA
  • Camino de Justicia, El – Cutler, CA
  • Camp News – Chicago, OL; Van Nuys, CA
  • Carta Editorial – Los Angeles, CA
  • CCR Newsletter – National City, CA
  • Center – Woodstock, NY; Berkeley, CA
  • Chrysalis – Los Angeles, CA
  • City Miner – Berkeley, CA
  • Cloud Marauder – Oakland, CA
  • Coalition, The – Sacramento, CA
  • Coffee House News – San Francisco, CA
  • Combat Ethnic Weapons – San Francisco, CA
  • Conspiracy, The – San Francisco, CA
  • Counterdraft – Los Angeles, CA
  • Country Women – Albion, CA
  • CSR GIPA News – CA
  • Dare To struggle – San Diego, CA
  • Door – San Diego, CA
  • Duck Power – San Diego, CA
  • Dykes & Gorgons – Berkeley, CA
  • El Tiempo Chicano – National City, CA
  • Enlisted Times   – San Francisco, CA
  • Enlisted Times Subscribers Bulletin – San Francisco, CA
  • Every GI is a POW – Monterey, CA
  • Everywoman – Venice, CA
  • Eyes Left – Travis AFB, CA
  • Eyewitness – San Francisco, CA
  • Favorite Sons – Los Angeles, CA
  • Feminist Bookstore News – San Francisco, CA
  • Final flight – Hamilton AFB, CA
  • G.I Fight Back – Long Beach, CA
  • Genesis West – Burlingame, CA
  • GI News and Discussion Bulletin – San Diego, CA
  • GIPA News – San Diego, CA
  • Green Machine, The (Camp Pendleton) – Camp Pendleton, Vista CA
  • Grinding to a Halt – Oakland, CA
  • Grunt Free Press – Redlands, CA
  • How(ever) – San Francisco, CA
  • Hunley Hemorrhoid – San Francisco, CA
  • Indochina Bulletin – San Francisco, CA
  • Inside Eastside – Los Angeles, CA
  • IO Magazine – Ann Arbor, MI; Berkeley, CA
  • It Aint Me Babe – Berkeley, CA
  • Kitty Litter – San Diego, CA
  • L.A. Digger News /DNA – Hollywood, CA
  • Lesbian Tide – Los Angeles, CA
  • Liberty Call   – San Diego, CA
  • Liberty Call (Concerned Military) – San Diego, CA
  • Little Square Review – Santa Barbara, CA
  • Looper, The – San Francisco, CA
  • Los Angeles Free Press – Los Angeles, CA
  • M – San Francisco, CA
  • Manroot – South San Francisco, CA
  • Marilyn – Clarement CA
  • Marin Women’s News Journal – San Rafael, CA
  • Marine blues – San Francisco, CA
  • Measure – San Francisco, CA
  • Meatball – San Francisco, CA
  • Midnightspecial – San Francisco, CA
  • MidPeninsula Observer – Palo Alto, CA
  • Military Counselor, The – San Francisco, CA
  • Military Intelligence – Los Angeles, CA
  • Movement, The – San Francisco, CA
  • New sOs News – San Francisco, CA
  • New World Journal – Berkeley, CA
  • Newsletter For The GI Coffeehouses – Oakland, CA
  • North Beach Review – San Francisco, CA
  • NOW – San Francisco, CA
  • Now Hear This – Long Beach, CA
  • ONE – Los Angeles, CA
  • Other Scenes – Los Angeles, CA
  • Out Now – Long Beach, CA
  • OutLook – San Francisco, CA
  • Panjandrum – San Francisco, CA
  • Pay Back – Santa Ana, CA
  • Peace and Justice – Los Angeles, CA
  • Peace Treaty News – Palo Alto, CA
  • Pentagon G.I. Coffeehouse Newsletter – Oakland, CA
  • Pentagon Paper, The – Los Angeles, CA
  • Permanent RIF – Seaside, CA
  • Pickle Press, The – El Toro, CA
  • Plain Rapper – Palo Alto, CA
  • Quilt – Berkeley, CA
  • Realist, The – New York, NY; San Francisco, CA; Venice, CA
  • Redline – Berkeley, CA
  • Regeneración – Los Angeles, CA
  • Reveille – Monterey, CA
  • Right-on Post, The – Seaside, CA
  • San Diego Door – San Diego, CA
  • San Francisco Express Times – San Francisco, CA
  • San Francisco Good Times – San Francisco, CA
  • Sanity Now – La Puente, CA
  • SCORE – Berkeley, CA
  • Sebastian Quill – San Francisco, CA
  • Sinister Wisdom – Charlotte, NC; Lincoln, NE; Amherst, MA; Rockland, ME; Montpelier, VT; Berkeley, CA
  • Sipapu – Winters, CA
  • Snorton bird – Norton AFB, Redlands, CA
  • SOS News – Oakland, CA
  • SOS Newsletter – San Francisco, CA
  • Soup – San Francisco, CA
  • Spaced Sentinel – Marysville, CA
  • SPAZM – Berkeley, CA
  • Stars & Strikes – San Francisco, CA
  • Strategic Hamlet – Isla Vista, CA
  • Street Journal – San Diego, CA
  • Support our Soldiers – Oakland, CA
  • Swords to Plowshares – San Francisco, CA
  • Tangents – Hollywood, CA
  • Task Force – Berkeley, CA
  • This is Life? – San Diego, CA
  • Tide, The – Los Angeles, CA
  • Tooth and Nail – Berkeley, CA
  • Tradeswoman Magazine – San Francisco, CA
  • Travisty – Travis AFB, CA
  • Tree – Santa Barbara, CA
  • Truth Instead – San Francisco, CA
  • Underground Oak, The – Oakland, CA
  • Unity Now – Monterey, CA
  • Up Against The Bulkhead – San Francisco, CA
  • Up From the Bottom – San Diego, CA
  • Up Front – Los Angeles, CA
  • USS Duluth Free Press – San Diego, CA
  • Veteran, The (San Francisco) – San Francisco, CA
  • Vietnam Veterans Against the War (Monterey) – Monterey, CA
  • Yanagi – Sausalito, CA
  • Yardbird Reader – Berkeley, CA
  • Y’Bird – Berkeley, CA
  • Talking Leaf – Los Angeles, CA
  • NIAGI News – National City

County and Library Collections:

Amador County Local Newspapers

  • AMADOR DISPATCH
  • AMADOR LEDGER
  • AMADOR LEDGER DISPATCH
  • AMADOR PROGRESS – NEWS
  • AMADOR PROGRESS NEWS AND THE IONE VALLEY ECHO
  • AMADOR RECORD AND LEDGER
  • GOLD MINE
  • IONE VALLEY ECHO
  • MOTHER LODE LIFE AND TIMES
  • MOTHER LODE MONITOR
  • MY AC HOME
  • THE ACORN NEWS
  • VOLCANO WEEKLY LEDGER

Anaheim Public Library

Azusa City Library Newspaper Archives

  • AZUSA HERALD
  • AZUSA JOURNAL
  • AZUSA VALLEY NEWS
  • CANYON CITY NEWS
  • GLENDORA SIGNAL
  • THE POMOTROPIC

Butte County Historical Newspapers

  • BUTTE COUNTY REGISTER BIGGS
  • BUTTE RECORD
  • CHICO COURANT
  • CHICO DAILY ENTERPRISE
  • CHICO ENTERPRISE WEEKLY
  • CHICO RECORD
  • CHICO RECORD SEMI-WEEKLY
  • CHICO REVIEW WEEKLY
  • DAILY REGISTER
  • GRIDLEY HERALD
  • OROVILLE BUTTE DEMOCRAT
  • OROVILLE DAILY BUTTE RECORD
  • OROVILLE DAILY REGISTER
  • OROVILLE MERCURY
  • OROVILLE REGISTER
  • SUNSHINE VALLEY NEWS
  • THE BIGGS ARGUS
  • THE BIGGS WEEKLY ARGUS
  • THE DAILY MERCURY
  • THE NORTH CALIFORNIAN
  • THE OROVILLE WEEKLY UNION
  • WEEKLY BUTTE RECORD
  • WEEKLY MERCURY
  • WEEKLY UNION RECORD

Contra Costa County Library

  • ANTIOCH LEDGER
  • BYRON TIMES
  • CONCORD TRANSCRIPT
  • CONTRA COSTA COURIER
  • CONTRA COSTA COURIER AND DANVILLE JOURNAL
  • CONTRA COSTA GAZETTE (MARTINEZ)
  • CONTRA COSTAN
  • DAILY GAZETTE
  • DAILY PRESS
  • DANVILLE JOURNAL
  • JOURNAL (EL CERRITO)
  • MARTINEZ DAILY STANDARD
  • PITTSBURG POST
  • PITTSBURG POST DISPATCH
  • RICHMOND DAILY INDEPENDENT

Glendora Public Library

  • Alhambra Review
  • California Independent
  • Compton Clipper
  • East Los Angeles Exponent
  • East Side Champion
  • East Side Semi Weekly Champion
  • Forward Movement Herald
  • Glendale Encinal
  • Glendora Echo
  • Glendora Gleaner
  • Glendoran Magazine
  • Glendorian Report
  • Lancaster Weekly News
  • Long Beach Breaker
  • Los Angeles Christian Advocate
  • Los Angeles Hotel Gazette And Daily Railway Advertiser
  • Los Angeles Real Estate Reporter
  • Los Angeles Record
  • Pasadena Chronicle
  • Pasadena Daily Evening Star
  • Pasadena Daily News
  • Pasadena Daily Union
  • Pomona Times-Courier
  • Redondo Beach Compass
  • Revista Hispano Americana
  • Revista Latino Americana
  • San Gabriel Valley News
  • San Pedro Golden Nine
  • San Pedro Harbor Advocate
  • Southern Californian
  • Spanish American Review
  • The Advocate
  • The California Baptist
  • The Covina Journal
  • The Evening Post
  • The Garvanza Gazette
  • The Glendora Press
  • The Glendora Signal
  • The Los Angeles Journal And Daily Journal
  • The Mutual Aid
  • The New Italy
  • The Porcupine
  • The Resources Of Southern California And Tributary
  • The San Fernando Times
  • The Sunday World
  • The Valley News
  • The Weekly Citizen
  • The Whittier Pointer
  • The Wireless

Monterey Public Library Newspaper Archives

  • The Californian (Monterey)
  • California Star
  • Alta California
  • Monterey Sentinel
  • Monterey Weekly Gazette
  • Monterey Republican
  • Monterey Democrat
  • Monterey Weekly Herald
  • Monterey Californian
  • Monterey Argus
  • Monterey Democrat
  • Monterey Weekly Cypress
  • Monterey New Era
  • Del Monte Weekly
  • Monterey Daily Cypress
  • Monterey American
  • Monterey American
  • Peninsula Daily Herald
  • Peninsula Daily Herald and
  • Monterey Daily Cypress and
  • Monterey American
  • Peninsula Daily Herald
  • Monterey Peninsula Herald
  • Monterey Peninsula Herald
  • Monterey Trader
  • Monterey Beacon
  • Monterey Bay News
  • Monterey Bay News
  • Seaside News-Sentinel
  • Montereyan
  • Big Sur Gazette
  • Herald
  • Monterey County Herald
  • Monterey Times
  • Coast Weekly
  • Monterey County Post

Napa County Library Newspaper Archives

  • AMERICAN CANYON EAGLE
  • NAPA VALLEY REGISTER
  • ST HELENA STAR
  • WEEKLY CALISTOGAN

Newport Beach Public Library Newspaper Archive

  • Newport Balboa News Times
  • Newport Harbor Ensign
  • Newport Balboa Press
  • Newport Bay Post and Shopping News
  • Newport Harbor News Press
  • Newport Harbor Daily Pilot
  • Orange Coast Pilot-Costa Mesa
  • Orange Coast Pilot
  • Newport Mesa Daily Pilot

Palo Alto City Library Newspaper Collection 

  • Palo Alto Live Oak (10/28/1896 – 1903)
  • Palo Alto Press (1901-1902)
  • Palo Altan (12/1/1905-12/28/1906, 1912-1914)
  • Mayfield Enterprise (3/5/1870-5/3/1871)
  • Citizen (3/5/1904-12/31/1905)
  • The Daily Palo Alto (published by students of Leland Stanford Univ. 9/3/1902-12/17/1902)
  • The Palo Alto Times (1893-11/23/1905)
  • The Daily Palo Alto Times (1/9/1908-4/30/1912)

Santa Cruz County Local Newspaper Index

  • Santa Cruz Surf
  • Pacific Sentinel
  • Santa Cruz Sentinel
  • Santa Cruz Eveneing News
  • Mountain Echo

Sunnyvale Public Library Newspaper Archives

  • SUNNYVALE DAILY STANDARD (1959-1963)
  • SUNNYVALE STANDARD (1908-1959)
  • WEST VALLEY TIMES (1963)

Torrance Public Library Newspaper Archives (1913- 1969)

Whittier Public Library Newspaper Collection

  • Whittier Graphic
  • Whittier Register
  • Whittier News
  • Whittier District News
  • Whittier Daily News

Watsonville Public Library Historical Newspaper Archive

  • (1864 – 1867) PAJARO TIMES AND SANTA CRUZ TIMES
  • (1868 – 1913) THE PAJARONIAN
  • (1903 – 1937) EVENING PAJARONIAN
  • (1937 – 1942) WATSONVILLE MORNING SUN
  • (1938 – 2012) REGISTER PAJARONIAN
  • (2013 – Current) REGISTER PAJARONIAN

Yuba County Library Historical Newspapers

  • APPEAL DEMOCRAT (1927-CURRENT)
  • DAILY CALIFORNIA EXPRESS (1858-1865)
  • DAILY EVENING TELEGRAPH (1867-1868)
  • DAILY NATIONAL DEMOCRAT (1858-1861)
  • DAILY NORTHERN STATESMAN (1867)
  • MARYSVILLE APPEAL (1874-1927)
  • MARYSVILLE CAMP NEWS (1937-1938)
  • MARYSVILLE CITY COUNCIL MINUTES (1851-1963)
  • MARYSVILLE DAILY APPEAL (1860-1923)
  • MARYSVILLE DAILY DEMOCRAT (1861-1909)
  • MARYSVILLE DAILY STANDARD (1870-1872)
  • MARYSVILLE DEMOCRAT (1907-1927)
  • MARYSVILLE EVENING DEMOCRAT (1910-1922)
  • MARYSVILLE HERALD (1850-1858)
  • MARYSVILLE STAR AND WHEATLAND HERALD (1935-1936)
  • MARYSVILLE WEEKLY APPEAL (1864-1889)
  • SACRAMENTO PLACER TIMES (1849-1850)
  • SACRAMENTO TRANSCRIPT (1850-1851)
  • SACRAMENTO UNION (1851-1854)
  • THE DAILY LEDGER (1880)
  • THE NORTH CALIFORNIAN (1866-1867)
  • THE PACIFIC (1851-1856)
  • VOTAW (1939-1942)
  • WHEATLAND FREE PRESS (1874-1877)
  • WHEATLAND GRAPHIC WEEKLY (1883-1889)
  • WHEATLAND HERALD (1934-1935)
  • WHEATLAND RECORDER (1877-1878)

Student Collections:

Abraham Lincoln High School – San Jose

Alhambra High School – Alhambra

American Jewish University – Los Angeles

Archbishop Mitty High School – San Jose

Archbishop Riordan High School – San Francisco

Beverly Hills High School – Beverly Hills

California Baptist College – Riverside

California Baptist University – Riverside

California High School – San Ramon

California Lutheran University – Thousand Oaks

California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo

California School of Mechanical Arts – San Francisco

California State University – Bakersfield

California State University – Chico

California State University – Fresno

California State University – Fullerton

California State University – Humboldt

California State University – Long Beach

California State University – Los Angeles

California State University – Monterey Bay

California State University – Northridge

California State University – Sacramento

California State University – San Bernardino

California State University – San Marcos

Carlmont High School – Belmont

Carondelet High School – Concord

Cathedral Catholic High School – San Diego

Citrus College – Glendora

East Los Angeles College – Monterey Park

El Molino High School – Forestville

El Rancho High School – Pico Rivera

Granada High School – Livermore

Hemet High School – Hemet

Judson International School – Pasadena

La Costa Canyon High School – Carlsbad

Los Angeles Leadership Academy – Los Angeles

Lowell High School – San Francisco

Loyola Marymount University – Los Angeles

Marymount High School – Los Angeles

Millikan High School – Long Beach

Mills College – Oakland

Miramonte High School – Orinda

Monta Vista High School – Cupertino

Mount Saint Mary’s University – Los Angeles

Pacific Union College – Angwin

Palo Alto High School – Palo Alto

Pepperdine University – Malibu

Polytechnic School – Pasadena

Redondo Union High School – Redondo Beach

Redwood High School – Larkspur

Sacramento City College – Sacramento

Sacred Heart High School – San Francisco

Saint Mary’s College – Moraga

San Diego State University – San Diego

San Dieguito High School – Encinitas

San Francisco State University – San Francisco

San Jose State University – San Jose

San Ramon High School – San Ramon

Santa Clara University – Santa Clara

Sonoma State University – Rohnert Park

South Pasadena High School – South Pasadena

Stanford University – Palo Alto

The Buckley School – Sherman Oaks

University of California – Berkeley

University of California – Davis

University of California – Irvine

University of California – Los Angeles

University of California – Riverside

University of California – San Diego

University of California – San Francisco

University of California – Santa Barbara

University of California – Santa Cruz

University of San Diego – San Diego

University of San Francisco – San Francisco

University of Southern California – Los Angeles 

University of the Pacific – Stockton

Urban School of San Francisco – San Francisco

Valencia High School – Placentia

Vanguard University – Costa Mesa

Whittier College – Whittier

Miscellaneous Collections and Indexes:

California Information File – Indexes

  • San Francisco Newspapers Index (1904-1949)
  • San Francisco Chronicle Index (1950-1980)

Historical Mexican and Mexican American Press

  • Basta Ya
  • Corazon de Aztlan
  • Hispano-America
  • La Cronica
  • La Prensa
  • La Raza
  • Regeneración

Japanese American Historical Newspapers Collection

American Prison Newspapers, 1800-2020

Portuguese-American Digital Newspaper Collection 1919-1973)

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Newspapers 1933-1942

Japanese-American Internment Camp Newspapers, 1942 to 1946

Small Town Papers

Old Fulton Postcards

Newspaper Abstracts – California

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

Other Free Sites:

Albany

Alvarado

Berkeley

Big Pine

Campbell

Chico

China Lake

Clovis

El Segundo

Eureka

Fresno

Fullerton

Glendale

Grass Valley

Healdsburg

Hermosa Beach

Inland Empire

Livingston

Long Beach

Los Angeles

Malibu

Monterey

Newell

Oakland

Orange

Orange County

Palo Alto

Palm Springs

Pomona

Sacramento

San Bernardino

San Diego

San Francisco

San Jose

San Luis Obispo

San Rafael

Santa Ana

Santa Cruz

Santa Maria

Santa Monica

Santa Rosa

Sonoma

South San Francisco

Subscription or Pay Sites:

Ancestry.com:

There are currently 76 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Ancestry – California Newspapers

Genealogy Bank:

There are currently 882 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Genealogy Bank – California Newspapers

Newspaper Archive:

There are currently 393 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Newspaper Archive – California

Newspapers.com:

There are currently 687 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Newspapers.com – California

And Finally:

You also need to visit the California Newspaper Project from time to time, which can tell you what is occurring in the state with regard to online and other format newspaper availability.

Please note – even more may be available via a local or state 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 California Collection Links in 24 Genealogy Categories, go to the By Location Page, click on California, and then click on the category of interest.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

7 replies on “California Online Historical Newspapers Summary”

I have also had some success finding info on http://www.newspaperabstracts.com/ for a few different California counties. These are transcriptions, so you can’t see the actual newspaper, and also the transcriptions are from only a few sections of the newspapers, like obits and marriages and stuff. I have found some very valuable info on my family from San Benito County on this site.

On the California page, under Old Fulton Postcards, the last listing is “Sandwich CA Voice of the Fugitive 1851-1852.”
This newspaper is actually from Sandwich CW (Canada West); today it would be Windsor, Ontario (across the river from Detroit, Michigan).
“Henry Walton Bibb (May 10, 1815 in Cantalonia, Kentucky – 1854) was an American author and abolitionist who was born a slave. After escaping from slavery to Canada, he founded an abolitionist newspaper, The Voice of the Fugitive.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Bibb
I love all the great information on your site. Thank you!

Am looking for an obituary for Dr. Belle R. Walker, M.D. is interred at Alta Vist Memorial, Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, CA. She died in 1961 at age 85. A woman Doctor unusual for the fact she was born in 1876, went to California from New York State, Maiden surname Richens Thank You Mary G.

Love the site! Thank you for compiling it.
Wanted to let you know that the link to the Los Angeles Star takes you to a page that says “Your session is either invalid or has timed out”. Clicking the available link takes you to a log-in page but no way to sign-up for a user account.

Thanks Rochelle. I will look into that link. Unfortunately broken links are part of this activity.

There are 3 different links to the same paper.. The first two (from top to bottom, The third one, which is the one that you mention is from a company that makes the Digital Reel product, and generally the access is limited to libraries. I am going to delete it. Thanks again.

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