District of Columbia Online Historical Newspapers Summary

The District of Columbia does not have a single central online repository for searching historical newspapers, but they use the Library of Congress Chronicling America site as their main site for searching old newspapers. There are many free online newspapers on other sites and 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 almost 800 newspapers that have been published in “DC” – certainly not all of them are searchable online. But there are several that are indeed available. So go for it – find your District of Columbia 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 July 2023; recently added links are in BOLD)

District of Columbia Historical Newspapers

Free Sites:

District-wide Collections:

Chronicling America – District of Columbia

Google News Archive

Civil War Washington – 1864-1865

  • Armory Square Hospital Gazette
  • The Cripple
  • The Soldiers’ Journal

Student Collections:

American University – Washington​

Catholic University – Washington​

Gallaudet University – Washington​

​Georgetown University – Washington​

​​George Washington University – Washington

George Washington University School of Law – Washington

Gonzaga College High School – Washington

Howard University – Washington

National Intelligence University – Washington

Miscellaneous Collections and Indexes:

Independent Voices – Alternative Newspapers

  • Aegis
  • Concerned Officers Movement Newsletter
  • Enlisted Peoples Organizing Committee
  • FAAR News
  • Feminist Alliance Against Rape
  • Forward March of American Imperialism
  • Furies, The
  • GI Alliance Newsletter
  • GI Office
  • GI Press service
  • Left Face (Washington D.C.)
  • Left Face!
  • Legislative Review
  • Link News
  • May Day (May Flowers)
  • Motive
  • Motive (gay issue)
  • Motive (lesbian issue)
  • New Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam
  • New Mobilizer
  • NY Vietnam Moratorium Committee
  • off our backs
  • OM
  • Open Sights
  • Oppressed, The
  • Quest/a feminist quarterly

Southern School News Archive 

Old Fulton Postcards

Newspaper Abstracts – District of Columbia

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

Other Free Sites:

Subscription or Pay Sites:

Ancestry.com:

There are currently 18 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Ancestry – District of Columbia Newspapers

Genealogy Bank:

There are currently 171 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Genealogy Bank – District of Columbia Newspapers

Newspaper Archive:

There are currently 61 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Newspaper Archive – District of Columbia

Newspapers.com:

There are currently 48 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Newspapers.com – District of Columbia

And Finally:

You also need to visit the DC Library site from time to time, which can tell you what is occurring in the city with regard to online and other newspaper format newspaper availability.

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.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

For all Free District of Columbia Links, click on the category of interest:

Newspapers
Yearbooks
Births
Marriages
Deaths
BMD Records
Alumni Records
Cemetery Records
Church Records
Coroner Records
Criminal Records
Digital Archives
Directories
Divorce Records
Immigration Records
Institutional Records
Military Records
Mortuary Records
Naturalizations
Obituaries
Photos
Probate and Wills
School Records
Tax Records
Voter Records

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