Maryland Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Maryland has a number of free online collections 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 currently, Maryland has several newspapers available on that site. There are many free online newspapers also 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 1,700 newspapers that have been published in the Old Line State – certainly not all of them are searchable online. But there are several that are indeed available. So go for it – find your Maryland 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 January 2024; recently added links are in BOLD)

Maryland Historical Newspapers

Free Sites:

Statewide Collections:

Chronicling America – Maryland Newspapers

Google News Archive

Early State Records Online: Newspapers 1802-1965
American and Commercial Daily Advertiser 

  • M890 – September 4, 1802 – December 31, 1804. 
  • M891 – January 1, 1805 – June 29, 1805. 
  • M892 – July 1, 1805 – December 31, 1805. 
  • M893 – January 1, 1806 – June 30, 1806. 
  • M894 – July 1, 1806 – December 31, 1806. 
  • M895 – January 1, 1807 – June 30, 1807. 
  • M896 – July 1, 1807 – December 31, 1807.

Baltimore Clipper 

  • M8521 – March 3, 1847 – December 31, 1863. 
  • M8522 – January 1, 1864 – December 31, 1864. 
  • M8523 – January 2, 1865 – September 30, 1865.

Baltimore Whig 

  • M8495 – July 2, 1810 – December 31, 1810.

Cambridge Chronicle 

  • M1073 – December 25, 1830 – June 13, 1947. 
  • M8778 – January 3, 1846 – December 30, 1857.

Cecil Whig 

  • M7443 – August 20, 1870 – August 1, 1874.

Centreville Observer 

  • M7951 – June 27, 1871 – October 5, 1918.

Easton Gazette 

  • M11033 – May 27, 1854 – December 14, 1861. 
  • M11034 – January 4, 1862 – December 2, 1865. 
  • M11035 – January 27, 1866 – November 11, 1871.

Ellicott City Times 

  • M7985 – September 7, 1870 – December 27, 1879. 
  • M7986 – January 2, 1892 – December 30, 1893. 
  • M7987 – January 6, 1894 – December 25, 1895. 
  • M7988 – January 1, 1898 – December 30, 1899.

Kent County News 

  • M5091 – January 6, 1965 – June 30, 1965.

Maryland Gazette

Maryland Journal 

  • M1931 – January 5, 1889 – December 28, 1889.

Maryland News Sheet 

  • M5153 – September 24, 1861 – December 31, 1861. 
  • M5154 – January 1, 1862 – March 31, 1862. 
  • M5155 – April 1, 1862 – June 30, 1862. 
  • M5156 – July 1, 1862 – August 14, 1862.

Maryland Republican 

  • M2957 – June 17, 1809 – December 30, 1809.

Montgomery County Sentinel 

  • M476 – January 1, 1860 – December 27, 1872.

Queenstown News 

  • M2622 – January 7, 1888 – July 11, 1903.

Republican Star, or, Eastern Shore General Advertiser 

  • M2800 – September 7, 1802 – December 27, 1803.

South 

  • M10521 – April 22, 1861 – February 17, 1862.

Maryland State Archives

County and Library Collections:

Cecil County
Cecil County Historical Society

  • Cecil Republican
  • Cecil Gazette
  • Elkton Press

Montgomery County
Montgomery County Public Libraries

  • African American Times
  • Montgomery Times

Queen Anne’s County
Queen Anne’s County Library

  • Bay Times 
  • Kent Island Bay Times 
  • Queen Annes Record
  • Queen Annes Record Observer 
  • Queens Anne’s Record Observer 
  • Record Observer 
  • Kent Island Bay Times Record Observer
  • The Kent Island Bay Times 

St. Mary’s County

St. Mary’s County Library

  • Command Histories
  • Patuxent Tester
  • Saint Marys Beacon
  • Southern Maryland News
  • The Enterprise

Worcester County
Worcester County Library

  • Berlin Advance 
  • Democratic Advocate 
  • Democratic Messenger 
  • Democratic Messenger and the Pocomoke City Messenger 
  • Eastern Shore Times 
  • Eastern Shoreman 
  • Evening Times
  • Ledger Enterprise 
  • Peninsula Ledger 
  • Peninsula Press
  • People
  • Press 
  • Record And Gazette
  • Record And Gazette 
  • Salisbury Times 
  • Salisbury Times And The Wicomico News 
  • Snow Hill Messenger 
  • Snow Hill Messenger and Worcester County Advertiser 
  • St Martins Church Register
  • Sun 
  • Village Herald 
  • Worcester Advocate
  • Worcester County Messenger 
  • Worcester County Shield
  • Worcester County Shield And Farmers Manual 
  • Worcester Democrat
  • Worcester Democrat And The Ledger Enterprise
  • Worcester Shield
  • Worcester Shield And Spirit Of The Whig Press

Salisbury University Libraries – Eastern Shore Newspaper Collection

  • Berlin Advance
  • Berlin News
  • Borderer
  • Citizen of Maryland
  • Courier
  • Delaware Advertiser and Farmer’s Journal
  • Delaware Weekly Advertiser and Farmer’s Journal
  • Eastern Shore Whig and People’s Advocate
  • Easton Gazette
  • Easton Gazette, and Eastern Shore Intelligencer
  • Herald and Eastern Shore Intelligencer
  • Maryland Gazette
  • Maryland Gazette and Political Intelligencer
  • Marylander and Herald
  • Republican Star
  • Salisbury Advertiser
  • Salisbury Advertiser and Eastern Shoreman
  • Snow-Hill Messenger
  • Snow-Hill Messenger and Worcester County Advertiser
  • The Village Herald
  • Wicomico News
  • Worcester Banner
  • Worcester Sentinel, and Farmers’ and Mechanics’ Shield

Somerset County Library System

  • Crisfield Post
  • Crisfield Times
  • Marylander and Herald
  • Somerset Herald
  • Village Herald

Washington County Free Library – Index to Hagerstown Newspapers

  • Casket
  • Hagerstown Mail
  • Herald and Torch Light
  • Herald of Freedom
  • Herald of Freedom and Torch Light
  • Maryland Free Press
  • News and Hagerstown News
  • Pledge & Advocate of Morals
  • Torch Light
  • Torch Light & Public Adviser
  • Weekly Chronicle
  • The Washington Spy 1790-1797

Washington County Free Library – Hager’stown Newspapers 1797-1804

  • Maryland Herald and Elizabeth-Town Advertiser,
  • Maryland Herald and Elizabeth-Town Weekly Advertiser
  • Maryland Herald and Hager’s-Town Weekly Advertiser

Washington County Free Library – Hager’s-town Newspapers 1805-1809

  • Maryland Herald and Hager’s-Town Weekly Advertiser
  • Hagers-Town Gazette

Washington County Free Library – Hager’s-town Newspapers 1810-1814

  • Maryland Herald and Hagerstown Weekly Advertiser
  • Hagerstown Gazette

Student Collections:

Anne Arundel Community College – Arnold

Bowie State University – Bowie

Catonsville High School – Catonsville

Coppin State University – Baltimore

Frostburg State University – Frostburg

Gilman Upper School – Baltimore

Goucher College – Baltimore​

Hood College – Frederick

John Hopkins University – Baltimore

Loyola University – Baltimore

McDaniel College – Westminster

Montgomery College – Rockville

Notre Dame University of Maryland – Baltimore

Park School – Baltimore

Richard Montgomery High School – Rockville

Rockville High School – Rockville

Salisbury University – Salisbury

St. John’s College – Annapolis

St. Mary’s College of Maryland – St. Mary’s City

Towson University – Towson

University of Baltimore – Baltimore

University of Maryland – Baltimore County

University of Maryland – College Park

Walt Whitman High School – Bethesda

Washington College – Chestertown

Miscellaneous Collections:

Historical Eastern Shore Newspapers

  • Berlin Advance
  • Delaware Advertiser And Farmer’s Journal
  • Delaware Weekly Advertiser And Farmer’s Journal
  • Eastern Shore Whig And People’s Advocate
  • Easton
  • Easton Gazette
  • Easton Gazette and Eastern Shore Intelligencer
  • The Borderer
  • The Courier
  • Maryland Gazette
  • Herald And Eastern Shore Intelligencer

Independent Voices – Alternative Newspapers

  • Highway 13
  • Media Report to Women
  • Military Law Pojrect News
  • New Salute
  • Open Ranks
  • View from Here, The
  • Women: A Journal of Liberation

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Newspapers 1933-1942

Old Fulton Postcards

Slaves and Free African Americans, Reports and opinions from the newspapers of Hagerstown, Washington County, and Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland, 1790 to 1864

Southern School News Archive 

Small Town Papers

Newspaper Abstracts – Maryland

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

Other Free Sites:

Annapolis

Baltimore​​

Cumberland

Denton

Greenbelt

Leonard Town

Oakland

Patuxent River

Westminster

Subscription or Pay Sites:

Ancestry.com:

There are currently 40 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Ancestry – Maryland Newspapers

Genealogy Bank:

There are currently 245 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Genealogy Bank – Maryland Newspapers

Newspaper Archive:

There are currently 126 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Newspaper Archive – Maryland

Newspapers.com:

There are currently 75 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Newspapers.com – Maryland.

And Finally:

You also need to visit the Historic Maryland Newspapers Project site from time to time, which can tell you what is occurring in the state with regard to online 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 Maryland Collection Links in 24 Genealogy Categories, go to the By Location Page, click on Maryland, and then click on the category of interest.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

2 replies on “Maryland Online Historical Newspapers Summary”

Wow! This is a great post. I’m so glad I found this, it’s nice having this all in one place. Great history lesson too! Thanks!

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