Maine Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Maine is one of the states that does have a single central online state 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 and Maine recently started to make newspapers available on that site. There are numerous 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 about 1,500 newspapers that have been published in the Pine Tree State – certainly not all of them are searchable online. So go for it – find your Maine 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)

Maine Historical Newspapers

Free Sites:

Statewide Collections:

Chronicling America – Maine Newspapers

Google News Archive

Digital Maine – Newspapers (some of these are duplicated below – but not all)


Androscoggin County

Aroostook County

Cumberland County

Franklin County

Hancock County

Kennebec County

Knox County

Lincoln County

Oxford County

Penobscot County

Piscataquis County

Somerset County

Waldo County

Washington County

York County

County and Library Collections:

Aroostook County
Caribou Public Library

  • Aroostook Republican
  • Aroostook Republican And News
  • Houlton Pioneer Times
  • North Star

Fort Fairfield Public Library

  • Aroostock Valley Sunrise 
  • Fort Fairfield Aurora
  • Presque Isle Sunrise
  • Beacon 
  • Loyal Sunrise
  • Northern Leader 
  • Leader And Farm Journal 
  • Fort Fairfield Review 
  • Fort Fairfield Journal 

 Turner Memorial Library

  • Star Herald 
  • Aroostook Pioneer 
  • Presque Isle Star-Herald 
  • Presque Isle Star Herald 
  • Aroostook Pioneer 
  • Aroostook Herald 
  • North Star 
  • Presque Isle Sunrise 
  • The Aroostook Herald 
  • The North Star 
  • The Star-Herald 
  • The Aroostook Democrat 
  • The Beacon 
  • The Loyal Sunrise 
  • The Sunrise 
  • The Independent 
  • Aroostook Valley Sunrise 

Walter TA Hansen Memorial Library

  • Mars Hill News
  • Our Community Letter
  • Mars Hill Enterprise

Cumberland County
Bridgton Public Library

  • The Bridgton News
  • Bridgton News
  • The Bridgton News

Curtis Memorial Library

  • Brunswick Telegraph
  • The Bath-Brunswick Times-Record
  • The Brunswick Record
  • The Brunswick Telegraph
  • The Times Record

Scarborough Public Library

  • Scarborough Leader
  • Southern Forecaster
  • Current
  • Sun Times
  • Forecaster
  • Scarborough News Review
  • Cumberland County
  • South Portland Cape Elizabeth Sentry
  • Scarborough Leader
  • The Southern Forecaster

Yarmouth Historical Society

  • The Shopping Notes

Kennebec County
Gardiner Public Library

  • Christian Intelligencer and Eastern Chronicle
  • Cold Water Fountain
  • Cold Water Fountain and Gardiner News Letter
  • Fountain and Journal
  • Gardiner Home Journal
  • Gardiner Journal
  • Kennebec Reporter
  • Northern Home Journal
  • Reporter Journal
  • Daily Reporter Journal
  • Gardiner Independent
  • Eastern Chronicle
  • The Gardiner Times

Knox County
Camden Public Library

  • The Camden Herald
  • The Herald Gazette
  • The Courier-Gazette
  • Village Soup Gazette

Lincoln County
Lincoln County News

  • Boothbay Register
  • Damariscotta Holiday Review
  • Democrat and Free Press
  • Herald and Record
  • Independent Reporter
  • Lincoln County News
  • Lincoln Democrat
  • Sheepscot Echo
  • Village Herald
  • Waldoboro Press

Oxford County
Bethel Historical Society

Paris Cape Historical Society

  • Norway Advertiser

Penobscot County
Bangor Public Library

  • Bangor Register
  • Bangor Weekly Register
  • Bangor Register and Penobscot Advertiser

 Old Town Public Library

  • Penobscot Times
  • Old Town-Orono Times
  • The Old Town Enterprise 
  • Old Town Enterprise
  • Orono News

Piscataquis County
Thompson Free Library

Somerset County
Pittsfield Public Library

  • Pittsfield Advertiser
  • Valley Times
  • Valley Times and the Pittsfield Advertiser

Sagadahoc County

Patten Free Library

  • Bath Daily Times
  • Daily Sentinel And Times

Waldo County
Belfast Free Library

  • Republican Journal 
  • The Waldo Independent

Alice L. Pendleton Library

  • Islesboro Island News
  • Islesboro Observer
  • Islesboro Up Date
  • Morning Sun

York County
McArthur Public Library

  • Biddeford Advance
  • Biddeford Daily Journal
  • Biddeford Daily Standard
  • Biddeford Journal
  • Biddeford Observer
  • Biddeford Weekly Journal
  • Biddeford Weekly Times
  • Biddeford-Saco Courier
  • Concord Gazette
  • Daily Breeze
  • Daily Evening Star
  • Daily Evening Times
  • Daily Morning Herald
  • Daily Standard
  • Daily Times
  • Evening Post
  • Expose
  • Journal Tribune
  • La Justice
  • La Justice De Biddeford
  • Maine Democrat
  • Maine Palladium
  • Maine Sentinel
  • New England Galaxy
  • Nightly Comet
  • Old Flag
  • Peoples Defender
  • Saco Tribune
  • Sentinel
  • The Biddeford Journal
  • The Union and Journal
  • Tri Weekly Herald
  • Union
  • Union and Eastern Journal
  • Union And Journal
  • Watchword
  • Watsons Illuminator
  • Weekly Record
  • Weekly Standard
  • York County Herald

Springvale Public Library

  • Sanford Tribune And Advocate
  • Sanford Tribune 
  • Springvale Advocate
  • Sanford Weekly Tribune
  • Journal Tribune
  • The Sanford News

York Public Library

  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – Biddford Weekly Journal
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – Fosters Daily Democrat
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – Insight
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – Plaine News APO 724
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – Portsmouth Herald
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – Portsmouth Times
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – The Independent Chronicle and Universal Advertiser
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – The Old York Courant and Transcript
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – The Old York Transcript
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – The Old York Transcript and Pioneer
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – The Old York Transcript and The York Courant
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – The Seacoaster
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – The York Courant
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – The York Enterprise
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – Vacation Supplement
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – York County Coast Star
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – York County Law and Order Advocate
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – York Courant
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1891 – York Hospital Supplement
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 189109 – The York Courant
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1893 – The Old York Transcript
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1893 – The Vacationist
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1893 – The York Times
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1908 – 25th Anniversary Laudholm Trust
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1908 – Fosters Daily Democrat
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1908 – Kittery Press
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1908 – Old York Transcript
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1908 – Portland Evening Express
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1908 – Portsmouth Herald
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1908 – Seacoast Media
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1908 – The Education Connection
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1908 – York County Coast Star
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1908 – York Courant
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1908 – York Hospital
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1908 – York Weekly
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1925 – Boston Evening Transcript
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1925 – Boston Post
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1925 – Coast Pilot
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1925 – Fosters Daily Democrat
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1925 – Kennebunk Journal
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1925 – Kittery Press
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1925 – Maine Sunday Telegram
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1925 – Old York Transcript
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1925 – Portland Sunday Telegram
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1925 – The Weekly Sentinel
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1925 – York
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1925 – York County Coast Star
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1925 – York Independent
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1925 – York Times
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1925 – York Weekly
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1925 – York Weekly Summer Week
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1942 – Old York Transcript
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1942 – The York Times
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1942 – The York Weekly
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1949 – Fosters Daily Democrat
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1949 – Guy Gannett Communications Publications
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1949 – Kittery Press
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1949 – Lewiston Journal Magazine Section
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1949 – Maine Farmer and Homemaker
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1949 – Old York Transcript
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1949 – Old York Transcript and The York Courant
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1949 – Old York Transcript Industrial and Recreational Section
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1949 – Portsmouth Herald
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1949 – The Boston Globe
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1949 – The Daily Breeze
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1949 – The York Weekly
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1949 – Well Ogunquit Compass
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1949 – York County Coast Star
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – Boston Globe
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – Chamber of Commerce York Harvestfest
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – Christian Science Monitor
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – Coast Pilot
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – Education Connection
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – Fosters Daily Democrat
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – Golden Cross Journal
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – Grande Parade 350th
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – Lewiston Journal
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – Maine Sunday Telegram
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – New York Times
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – Obituary Scrapbook
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – Old York Courant
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – Old York Transcript
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – Portland Transcript
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – Portmouth Herald
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – Seacoast
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – The Boston Post
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – Wells-Ogunquit Compass
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – York County Coast Star
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – York Courant
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – York School Insight
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1970 – York Weeklies
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1984 – Fosters Sunday Citizen
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1984 – The Education Connection
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1984 – The Nubble Comes Home Supplement
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1984 – The York Weekly
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1984 – York Weekly
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1998 – Misc Newspapers and articles
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1998 – The Vacationist
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1998 – Wells-Ogunquit Compass
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1998 – York County Coast Star
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1998 – York Courant
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1998 – York Maritimes
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1999 – Boston Post
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1999 – Clippings
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1999 – Honolulu Star Bulletin
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1999 – Lewiston Journal
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1999 – Maine Sunday Telegram Faces of Maine
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1999 – Philadelphia Inquirer Picture Parade
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1999 – Portsmouth Herald Souvenir Edition
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1999 – Summer Week
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1999 – The Old York Transcript
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 1999 – The York Weekly
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 2006 – Lewiston Journal
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 2006 – Old York Transcript
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 2006 – The York Independent
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 2006 – York Courant
  • Old York Historical Society – Misc 2006 – York Weekly
  • Summer Week
  • The Old York Transcript
  • The York Courant
  • The York Independent
  • The York Weekly
  • The York Weekly Misc Years Supplements
  • York Enterprise

Rockland Public Library – Archived Rockland Newspapers

  • The Courier Gazette, 1882-1920
  • The Lime Rock Gazette, 1846-1850
  • The Rockland Gazette, 1851-1882

Student Collections:

Bates College – Lewiston

Bowdoin College – Brunswick

College of the Atlantic – Bar Harbor

Colby College – Waterville

Gould Academy – Bethel

Husson University – Bangor

Maine College of Art – Portland

Maine Maritime Academy – Castine

Saint Joseph’s College – Standish

Southern Maine Community College – South Portland

Thomas College – Waterville

Unity College – Unity

University of Maine – Farmington

University of Maine – Fort Kent

University of Maine – Machia

University of Maine – Orono

University of Maine – Presque isle

University of New England – Biddeford

University of Southern Maine – Portland

Miscellaneous Collections and Indexes:

Maine News Index Online (Index only)

Maine Labor and Radical History Newspapers

  • The Mechanic, Farmer and Working-Men’s Advocate (Portland: 1831-?)
  • The Farmer’s Friend and Laboring-Man’s Advocate (Kennebunk: 1831-?)
  • The Socialist Press (Portland: 1902-?)
  • The Maine Socialist (Bath: 1904-?)
  • The Maine Comrade (Thomaston: 1909?-?)
  • Maine Labor Leader (Portland: 1923?-?)
  • The Maine State Labor News (Augusta: 1933- )
  • The Maine Issue (Portland: 1976-1978)
  • The Pine Tree Progressive (Jefferson: 1997?-?)
  • Labor Record of Maine (Portland: 1942-1998)

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Newspapers 1933-1942

Independent Voices – Alternative Newspapers

  • Origin

Small Town Papers

Old Fulton Postcards

Newspaper Abstracts – Maine

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

Other Free Sites:

Augusta

Bangor

Bethel

Lewiston

Milo

Portland

Rumford

South Freeport

Subscription or Pay Sites:

Ancestry.com:

There are currently 36 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Ancestry – Maine Newspapers

Genealogy Bank:

There are currently 132 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Genealogy Bank – Maine Newspapers

Newspaper Archive:

There are currently 45 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Newspaper Archive – Maine

Newspapers.com:

There are currently 39 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Newspapers.com – Maine 

And Finally:

You also need to check out the Maine State Library site, which can tell you what is happening in the state with regard to newspaper projects.

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.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

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


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

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

10 replies on “Maine Online Historical Newspapers Summary”

Colby College Library has a collection of microfilm copies of Maine newspapers going back into the 1800’s. It was there, that I found three newspapers reporting an account of the death, on November 14, 1899, of my grandfather, Sam Wolman, in three separate cities/towns. Many of the Maine newspapers of the 1800’s, are no longer in publication, but they still exist at Colby.

I am with the Maine State Library. We joined the Chronicling America project this year and hope to have our first papers live in the fall. We also have a number of newspapers available digitally in our repository DigitalMaine.com. That is a growing collection. We are investing in technology to expand it as well. Our Reference department would be happy to help any of you identify sources for Maine newspapers

Thank you Peggy for the info. I used the Digital Maine site to update my list. And will check it frequently for updates

We are doing our best to keep the list up to date as part of out commitment to the Library of Congress NEH National Digital Newspaper Project.
we are happy it helps you.

Do you have any of the Chronicle published circa 1870 in Lewiston and Auburn by my Fogg family great grandfather and great great grandfather. Col. James Harvey Blood was one of the writers. He had been married to Victoria Claffin Woodhull. He later married my Great Grandmother Isabella Morrill Fogg.

I have been very pleased with this sight, as I have been searching my ancestors and have found some great information through the Lewiston newspapers on here. My grandfather never spoke of his family and it has been very difficult to search with very little information. But since I have had this sight I have found relatives I never new I had. I just want to say, Thank you for being here.

I contacted the Rockland, ME library for a copy of my gggrandfather’s obituary. I had a copy, but no information as to the paper or date. The staff were very responsive. They have several (?) local newspapers on microfilm.

Can anyone help direct me to where I may find copies of the Portland Press Herald, from 1932? I saw a link on one site for later years, and one for earlier years, but nothing around 1932. I am specifically looking to hone in on October 14, 1932. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am in Massachusetts, not in Maine. THANK YOU!
Greg Daniels

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