Michigan is one of the states that has a couple of central online repositories 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 the state makes use of this site as well. The online newspaper titles are also available from several different sites, many free and many require a subscription. Below is a list of where the titles are stored and the link so that you can access them.
There are around 4,000 newspapers that have been published in the Wolverine State - certainly not all of them are searchable online. But there are quite a few that are indeed available. So go for it - find your Michigan 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 May, 2018; recently added links are in BOLD)
Free Sites:
Statewide Collections:
Chronicling America - Michigan
- Alma, Mich., 1878-1928 - Alma record.
- Alpena, Mich., 1871-1893 - Alpena weekly argus.
- Alpena, Mich., 1893-1909 - Alpena argus.
- Belding, Mich., 1889-1918 - Belding banner.
- Belding, Mich., 1918-1973 - The Belding banner-news.
- Brockway Centre, Mich., 1882-1894 - Weekly expositor.
- Calumet, Mich., 18??-1907 - The copper country evening news.
- Calumet, Mich., 1907-1938 - The Calumet news.
- Chase, Mich., 1873-current - The Lake County star.
- Cheboygan, Mich., 1875-1885 - Northern tribune.
- Clio, Mich., 1907-current - The Clio messenger.
- Constantine, Mich., 1836-1838 - Constantine republican.
- Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich., 1887-1996 - The diamond drill.
- Dearborn, Mich., 1901-1927 - Dearborn independent
- Detroit [Mich.], 18??-19?? - Detroiter Abend-Post.
- Detroit, Mich., 1933-1933 - Detroit tribune.
- Detroit, Mich., 1933-1935 - The Tribune independent of Michigan.
- Detroit, Mich., 1935-1966 - The Detroit tribune.
- Dowagiac, Mich., 18??-1880 - The Cass County Republican.
- East Jordan, Mich., 189?-1953 - Charlevoix county herald.
- East Saginaw, Mich., 1859-18?? - East Saginaw courier.
- Grand Haven, Mich., 1851-18?? - Grand River times.
- Grand Haven, Mich., 1858-18?? - The Grand Haven news.
- Grand Rapids, Mich., 18??-1892 - Telegram-herald.
- Grand Rapids, Mich., 188?-18?? - Grand Rapids morning telegram.
- Grand Rapids, Mich., 1892-1959 - Grand Rapids herald.
- Grayling, Mich., 1879-19?? - Crawford avalanche.
- Hillsdale, Mich., 1846-1851 - Hillsdale Whig standard.
- Hillsdale, Mich., 1851-1909 - The Hillsdale standard.
- L'Anse, L.S., Mich., 18??-current - The L'Anse sentinel.
- Lansing, Mich., 1855-1874 - The Lansing state Republican.
- Owosso, Mich., 18??-1882 - The Owosso times.
- Owosso, Mich., 1882-1897 - The times.
- Owosso, Mich., 1897-1926 - The Owosso times.
- Paw Paw, Mich., 1855-1920 - The true northerner.
- Yale, St. Clair County, Mich., 1894-current - The Yale expositor.
- Ypsilanti, Washtenaw Co., Mich., 1843-1900 - Ypsilanti sentinel.
Google News Archive
- Adrian - The Weekly Press
- Adrian - The Daily Press
- Ann Arbor - The Ann Arbor Record
- Ann Arbor - The Peninsular Courier
- Ann Arbor - The Michigan Daily
- Ann Arbor - Local News and Advertiser
- Ann Arbor - The Summer Daily
- Ann Arbor - The Ann Arbor Register
- Ann Arbor - The Ann Arbor Argus
- Ann Arbor - Washtenaw Whig
- Ann Arbor - The Weekly Michigan Argus
- Ann Arbor - Peninsula Courier & Family Visitant/Ann Arbor Visitant
- Ann Arbor - The Peninsular Courier and Family Visitant
- Ann Arbor - Courier-Register
- Ann Arbor - Ann Arbor Argus-Democrat
- Ann Arbor - The Ann Arbor Daily Courier
- Ann Arbor - The Ann Arbor Journal
- Ann Arbor - Michigan State Journal
- Ann Arbor - State Journal
- Atlanta - Montmorency County Tribune
- Battle Creek - The Michigan Tribune
- Bay City - L'Ouest Français
- Bellaire - The Bellaire Area Review
- Bellaire - The Antrim Review
- Bessemer - The Bessemer Herald
- Big Rapids - The Big Rapids Current
- Clare - The Clare County Review
- Detroit - Detroit Gazette
- Flint - Wolverine Citizen
- Flint - The Genesee Whig
- Flint - The Sunday Democrat
- Flint - The Genesee Democrat
- Lake Linden - L'Union Franco-Américaine
- Ludington - Ludington Record-Appeal
- Ludington - Ludington Daily News
- Ludington - Ludington Appeal
- Ludington - The Ludington Record
- Ludington - Mason County Record
- Ludington - The Ludington Chronicle
- Manistee - Manistee Standard
- Manistee - The Manistee Weekly Times
- Manistee - The Manistee Times
- Manistee - The Manistee Times-Sentinel
- Manistee - Times and Standard
- Manistee - The Manistee Broadaxe
- Marshall - The Marshall Statesman
- Mt. Pleasant - North=western Tribune
- Niles - The Niles Republican
- Owosso - The Owosso American
- Owosso - The Owosso Daily Argus
- Owosso - The Evening Argus
- Owosso - The Owosso Argus-Press
- Owosso - The Argus-Press
- Pentwater - East Shore News
- Pentwater - The Pentwater News
- South Haven - Morning Sentinel
- South Haven - South Haven Sentinel
- Tecumseh - The Tecumseh News
- Three Rivers - Three Rivers Daily Reporter
- Three Rivers - Three Rivers Reporter
- Three Rivers - The News Reporter
- Three Rivers - Three Rivers Tribune
- Three Rivers - Three Rivers Herald
Digital Michigan Newspapers
- Alpena Evening News — Alpena, Alpena County (Mich.) — 1 August 1899 - 30 December 1910
- Augustinian — Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County (Mich.) — 8 July 1905 - 27 December 1930
- Cadillac Evening News — Cadillac, Wexford County (Mich.) — 6 June 1951 - May 2013
- Cheboygan Democrat — Cheboygan, Cheboygan County (Mich.) — 4 March 1880 - 16 December 1927
- Clare County Cleaver — Harrison, Clare County (Mich.) — 10 July 1891 - 29 December 2016
- Clare County Press — Clare, Clare County (Mich.) — 24 May 1878 - 30 April 1886
- Clare Courier — Clare, Clare County (Mich.) — 5 July 1895 - 22 December 1922
- Clare Democrat and Press — Clare, Clare County (Mich.) — 3 January 1890 - 29 July 1892
- Clare Democrat — Clare, Clare County (Mich.) — 31 December 1885 - 26 July 1889
- Clare Press — Clare, Clare County (Mich.) — 7 May 1886 - 13 May 1887
- Clare Sentinel (1892) — Clare, Clare County (Mich.) — 2 December 1892 - 21 December 1894
- Clare Sentinel and the Democrat-Press — Clare, Clare County (Mich.) — 28 December 1894 - 24 July 1896
- Clare Sentinel — Clare, Clare County (Mich.) — 31 July 1896 - 28 December 1999
- Detroit Tribune — Detroit, Wayne County (Mich.) — 4 January 1964 - 29 January 1966
- Farwell News — Farwell, Clare County (Mich.) — 1 January 1953 - 30 December 1971
- Focus News — Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County (Mich.) — 1 April 1968 - 15 November 1982
- Focus — Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County (Mich.) — 10 June 1965 - 1 January 1968
- Inner City Times — Lansing, Ingham County (Mich.) — 20 November 1968 - 21 May 1969
- Isabella County Enterprise — Mount Pleasant, Isabella County (Mich.) — 13 January 1875 - 27 August 1926
- Kalamazoo Augustinian — Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County (Mich.) — 19 December 1896 - 1 July 1905
- Kalamazoo News — Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County (Mich.) — 23 August 1979 - 19 February 1987
- L'Anse Sentinel — L’Anse, Baraga County (Mich.) — 14 March 1924 - 10 November 1954
- Labor Journal — Alpena, Alpena County (Mich.) — 3 January 1885 - 26 December 1890
- Lansing Post — Lansing, Ingham County; Fowler, Clinton County (Mich.) — 17 May 1963 - 30 May 1964
- Lansing Times — Lansing, Ingham County (Mich.) — 28 June 1975
- Michigan Labor Journal — Alpena, Alpena County (Mich.) — 14 June 1884 - 27 December 1884
- Milford Times — Milford, Oakland County (Mich.) — 18 February 1871 - 27 December 1913
- Mount Pleasant Daily Times — Mount Pleasant, Isabella County (Mich.) — 5 January 1927 - 16 May 1931
- Mount Pleasant Times and Isabella County Enterprise — Mount Pleasant, Isabella County (Mich.) — 9 September 1926 - 1 December 1927
- Mount Pleasant Times — Mount Pleasant, Isabella County (Mich.) — 10 June 1926 - 2 September 1926
- New World — Lansing, Ingham County (Mich.) — 1 January 1973
- Oakland County Post — Pontiac, Oakland County (Mich.) — 6 January 1893 - 29 December 1893
- Pontiac Bill Poster (1882) — Pontiac, Oakland County (Mich.) — 2 August 1882 - 25 December 1889
- Pontiac Commercial — Pontiac, Oakland County (Mich.) — 20 June 1876 - 23 April 1878
- Pontiac Daily Gazette — Pontiac, Oakland County (Mich.) — 2 October 1894 - 15 February 1896
- Pontiac Evening Press — Pontiac, Oakland County (Mich.) — 17 February 1896 - 21 March 1896
- Pontiac Gazette (1877) — Pontiac, Oakland County (Mich.) — 30 March 1877 - 3 July 1896
- Pontiac Weekly Bill Poster — Pontiac, Oakland County (Mich.) — 3 January 1872 - 26 July 1882
- Pontiac Weekly Gazette (1869) — Pontiac, Oakland County (Mich.) — 20 August 1875 - 23 March 1877
- Reporter — Saline, Washtenaw County (Mich.) — 8 April 1948 - 4 June 1958
- Response — Lansing, Ingham County (Mich.) — 1 February 1981 - 1 December 1981
- Roscommon County Voice — Roscommon, Roscommon County (Mich.) — 18 December 2010 - 6 December 2013
- Rotary Chronicle — Clare, Clare County (Mich.) — 11 November 1955 - 1 October 1975
- Saline Observer — Saline, Washtenaw County (Mich.) — 18 November 1880 - 26 May 1959
- Saline Reporter — Saline, Washtenaw County (Mich.) — 11 June 1958 - 3 April 2014
- Saline Review — Saline, Washtenaw County (Mich.) — 7 March 1874
- Shepherd Argus — Shepherd, Isabella County (Mich.) — 8 June 1960 - 29 June 1966
- Sol de Aztlan — Lansing, Ingham County (Mich.) — 1 March 1970 - 1 July 1971
- St. Louis Leader — Saint Louis, Gratiot County (Mich.) — 7 January 1880 - 26 December 1918
- Westside News — Lansing, Ingham County (Mich.) — 17 May 1969 - 20 March 1971
- Wexford County Pioneer — Sherman, Wexford County (Mich.) — 9 July 1879 - 13 August 1879
Michigan Digital Newspaper Portal (By County)
Allegan Alpena Antrim Baraga Berrien
- Coloma Courier
- Niles Enquirer
- Niles Gazette and Advertiser
- Niles Intelligencer
- Niles Republican
- TriCity Record
- Watervliet Record
- Berrien County Record
- Buchanan Argus
- Buchanan Banner
- Buchanan News
- Buchanan Reporter
- Buchanan Weekly Union
- Michigan Independent
- Clare County Cleaver
- Clare County Press
- Clare Courier
- Clare Democrat
- Clare Democrat and Press
- Clare Press
- Clare Sentinel
- Clare Sentinel (1892)
- Clare Sentinel and Democrat Press
- Farwell News
- Rotary Chronicle
- Escanaba Daily Mirror
- Escanaba Daily Press (1922-1926)
- Escanaba Morning Press (1909-1922)
- Escanaba Tribune
- Evening Iron Port
- Iron Port
- Semi-Weekly Iron Port
- Semi-Weekly Iron Port & Calumet
- Weekly Iron Port
- Daily Resorter
- Emmet County Democrat
- Emmet County Independent
- Independent Democrat
- Levering Local
- Little Traverse Republican
- Northern Independent
- Petoskey City Record
- Petoskey Evening News
- Petoskey News Review
- Petoskey Record
- Inner City Times
- Lansing Post
- Lansing State Republican
- Lansing Times
- New World
- Response
- Sol de Aztlan
- State News- Michigan State University Student Newspaper
- Westside News
- Central Michigan Life
- Central Normal Life
- Central State Life
- Isabella County Enterprise
- Mount Pleasant Daily Times
- Mount Pleasant Times
- Mount Pleasant Times and Isabella County Enterprise
- Shepherd Argus
- Weidman Messenger
- Augusta Beacon
- Augustinian
- Climax Cereal
- Climax Crescent
- Focus
- Focus News
- Kalamazoo Augustinian
- Kalamazoo Telegraph
- Scotts Cereal
- The Progressive Herald
- Western Herald
- Grand Rapids Herald
- Grand Rapids morning telegram
- Grand Rapids Press
- Grand Rapids Press
- Ledger Suburban Life
- Lowell Journal
- Lowell Ledger
- Lowell Ledger Suburban Life
- Lowell Weekly Journal
- Telegram-herald
- The Grand Valley Ledger
- Lake Orion Review
- Milford Times
- Rochester Era
- South Lyon Herald
- Oakland County Post
- Pontiac Bill Poster (1882)
- Pontiac Commercial
- Pontiac Daily Gazette
- Pontiac Evening Press
- Pontiac Gazette (1877)
- Pontiac Weekly Bill Poster
- Pontiac Weekly Gazette (1869)
- Marlette Index
- Minden City Herald
- Sandusky Republican Tribune
- Sanilac County News Newspaper
- Sanilac County Republican Souvenir
- Sanilac Jeffersonian
- Argus-Press - Owosso
- Corunna Journal
- Corunna News
- Evening Press - Owosso (1911)
- Owosso Argus Press
- Owosso Argus-Press (1914-1972, scattered issues)
- The Owosso times
- The Owosso times
- The times
- Ann Arbor Argus-Democrat
- Ann Arbor Daily Courier
- Ann Arbor Journal
- Ann Arbor News
- Ann Arbor News
- Ann Arbor Record
- Ann Arbor Signal of Liberty
- Chelsea Herald
- Chelsea Standard
- Chelsea Standard-Herald
- Chelsea Tribune
- Dexter Leader
- Michigan State Journal
- Reporter
- Saline Observer
- Saline Reporter
- Saline Review
- Sun Times
- The Ann Arbor Argus
- The Chelsea Standard
- The Michigan Daily
- Ypsilanti sentinel
- Canton Observer
- Dearborn independent
- Detroit Press
- Detroit Press
- Detroit Gazette
- Detroit Jewish Chronicle
- Detroit Jewish News
- Detroit Tribune
- Grosse Point Review
- Grosse Pointe Civic News
- Grosse Pointe News
- Grosse Pointe Public Library Local History Archives: Newspapers
- The Northville Record
County and Library Collections:
Alger County
Munising School Public Library (in library)
- Alger County Democrat
- Alger County Independent
- Alger County Republican
- Cloverland Farmer
- Gazette
- Grand Marais Herald
- Grand Marais Pilot and Pictured Rocks Review
- Lake Superior Breeze
- Lake Superior Pilot
- Munising News
- Munising Republican
- Wrights Weekly
- Yearbook
Bay County
Delta College Collegiate
Gratiot County
Alma College
Newaygo County
White Cloud Community Library
Ann Arbor District Library Historic Newspapers
- Michigan Argus (1860-1879)
- Ann Arbor Argus (1888-1898)
- Ann Arbor Argus-Democrat (1898-1899)
- Ann Arbor Courier (1880-1888)
- Ann Arbor News (1927-2009)
- Ann Arbor Sun (1967-1976)
- Agenda (1986-1998)
Cass City Newspapers
Chelsea District Library Newspaper Archives
- Chelsea Standard
- The Chelsea Herald
- The Chelsea Standard
- Chelsea Standard-Herald
- The Chelsea Tribune
- The Dexter Leader
- The Sun Times News
- Washtenaw Now
Corunna Community District Library Historical Digitized Newspapers
- Corunna Journal
- Corunna News
Grosse Pointe Newspapers
Kalamazoo Public Library Historic Newspapers
- Allegan County Record
- Augusta Beacon
- Climax Cereal
- Climax Crescent
- Kalamazoo Telegraph
- Otsego Union
- Parchment Journal
- Parchment News
- Scotts Cereal
- The Progressive Herald
- The Weekly Union
Oakland County Historic Newspapers
- Clarkston Advertiser
- Clarkston Eccentric
- Clarkston News
- Clarkston Record
- Lake Orion News
- Orion Review
- Rochester Eccentric
- Rochester Era
- The Novi News
- The Reminder
Student Collections:
Central Michigan University - Mount Pleasant Eastern Michigan University - Ypsilanti Ferris State University - Big Rapids Grand Valley State University - Allendale Hillsdale College - Hillsdale Kalamazoo College - Kalamazoo Mercy College - Detroit Michigan State University - East Lansing Northern Michigan University - Marquette Oakland University - Rochester Saginaw Valley State University - University Center University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
- Michigan Daily (most complete collection)
- Michigan Daily
- Michigan Daily-News
- The Michigan Daily
- The Wolverine
- University Chronicle
- University of Michigan Daily
Miscellaneous Collections:
Small Town Papers
- The Antrim Review Bellaire, Michigan
- The Clare County Review Clare, Michigan
- Montmorency County Tribune Atlanta, Michigan
Old Fulton Postcards
- Bellevue MI Gazette
- Bellevue MI Villager
- Charlotte MI Eaton County Republican
- Charlotte MI Leader
- Charlotte MI Tribune
- Dimondale MI News
- Eaton Rapids MI Journal
- Lake County MI Newspapers 1879-1920
- Mancelona MI Antrim County Herald
- Mancelona MI Antrim County News
- Maple Vally MI News
- Middleville MI Sun
- Mullliken MI News
- Nashville MI Maple Valley News
- Olivet MI Obiter
- Olivet MI Optic
- Springport MI Signal Newspapers
- Sunfield MI Sentinel
- Three Oaks MI Acorn
- Three Oaks MI Galien River Gazette
- Three Oaks MI Press
- Vermonville MI Echo
The Olden Times - Michigan
Newspaper Abstracts - Michigan
For Obituary Indexes, transcriptions, and other death/obituary information from historic newspapers, please check out the Obituaries page.
Other Free Sites:
Ann Arbor Battle Creek Cadillac Dearborn Detroit
- Detroit Free Press
- Detroit Jewish Chronicle (1916–1951)
- Detroit Jewish News
- Detroit Sunday Journal
- Hellcat News
Subscription or Pay Sites:
Ancestry.com:
There are currently 30 publications available at this site. See all the titles at Ancestry - Michigan Newspapers
Genealogy Bank:
There are currently 217 publications available at this site. See all the titles at Genealogy Bank - Michigan Newspapers
Newspaper Archive:
There are currently 81 publications available at this site. See all the titles at Newspaper Archive - Michigan
Newspapers.com:
There are currently 72 publications available at this site. See all the titles at Newspapers.com - Michigan
And Finally:
You also need to check out the Library of Michigan site, which can tell you what newspapers have been digitized and 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.
Good luck and happy hunting!
For more links for different states, provinces, and countries - please see the Newspaper Links page on this website.
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