History & Genealogy

African American Heritage
Search essential historical records for African Americans, including Federal Census, Marriage and Cohabitation Records, Military Draft and Service Records, Registers of Slaves and Free(d) Persons of Color, Freedman's Bank, and more. (Access to African American Heritage is not available outside of the library.)

Annals of American History
This is a large collection of primary source materials from American history including sound & video from the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Ancestry Library Online
This genealogical database includes federal and state census, church, military, court, land, probate, immigration and vital records. (Access to Ancestry.com is not available outside of the library.)

Charlotte Observer Historical Archive
Historical collection explores America’s past through books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, and government documents. Log-in with your library card.

Digital Mooresville
This site has a web-based collection of photographs, documents, maps and images that depict the history of Mooresville from the earliest images to the present. Digital Mooresville preserves and promotes the history and heritage of Mooresville and the surrounding area by making that history available to researchers, teachers, students and others in an online environment.

Digital North Carolina
A digital collection of primary sources from cultural heritage institutions around North Carolina including photographs, yearbooks and government records.

Documenting the American South
Documenting the American South includes books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews and songs related to southern history, literature and culture.

Heritage Quest
Genealogy buffs or historians may search federal census records, family histories, local histories, the Periodical Source Index and more with records from 1700 to the present.

NC LIVE Video Collection
This collection contains more than 250 high-quality documentary and educational video programs produced for PBS, covering the sciences, U.S. and world history, biographies, current events, the arts, and a variety of other subjects. Several educational series for children are included.

NCpedia
Free and reliable source of information for students and other researchers interested in topics related to North Carolina.

North Carolina’s Newspapers
Find current and archived state, regional, and national articles on issues, events, people, government and more with the following NC Newspapers including the Fayetteville Observer (1988-Current), News & Observer (1991-Current), News & Record (1990-Current), and the Winston-Salem Journal (11/1/97-Current). Log-in with your library card

Sanborn Maps North Carolina
This site contains Sanborn fire insurance maps from 1867-1970 for all parts of North Carolina.