North Dakota is one of the states that does not have a single central online state 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 1,500 newspapers that have been published in the Peace Garden State - certainly not all of them are searchable online. But there are several that are indeed available. So go for it - find your North Dakota 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 November, 2020; recently added links are in BOLD)
Free Sites:
Statewide Collections:
Chronicling America - North Dakota
- Beach, Billings County, N.D., 1905-1916 - Golden Valley chronicle.
- Bismarck, D.T. [N.D.], 1873-1875 - The Bismarck tribune. [volume
- Bismarck, D.T. [N.D.], 1875-1878 - Bismarck weekly tribune.
- Bismarck, D.T. [N.D.], 1875-1881 - Bismarck tri-weekly tribune.
- Bismarck, D.T. [N.D.], 1878-1884 - Bismarck tribune.
- Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.], 1881-1916 - Bismarck daily tribune.
- Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.], 1884-1943 - Bismarck weekly tribune.
- Bismarck, N.D., 1916-current - The Bismarck tribune.
- Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D., 1895-1929 - The Bottineau courant.
- Bottineau, N.D., 1885-1895 - The Bottineau pioneer.
- Bowbells, Ward Co., N.D., 1899-1969 - The Bowbells tribune.
- Cooperstown, Griggs Co., Dak. [N.D.], 1883-1884 - Cooperstown courier.
- Cooperstown, Griggs Co., Dak. [N.D.], 1885-1885 - Griggs County courier.
- Cooperstown, Griggs Co., Dak. [N.D.], 1885-1902 - Griggs courier.
- Cooperstown, Griggs Co., N.D., 1902-1913 - The Cooperstown courier.
- Devils Lake, N.D., 1909-1915 - Devils Lake inter-ocean.
- Devils Lake, N.D., 1911-1911 - The Devils Lake world.
- Devils Lake, N.D., 1911-1914 - Devils Lake weekly world.
- Devils Lake, N.D., 1914-1915 - Devils Lake world.
- Devils Lake, N.D., 1915-1920 - The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean.
- Devils Lake, N.D., 1920-1982 - The Devils Lake world.
- Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.], 1884-1905 - Devils Lake inter-ocean.
- Devils Lake, Ramsey County, N.D., 1905-1909 - Devils Lake inter-ocean and Devils Lake free press.
- Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.], 1883-1927 - The Dickinson press.
- Fargo, N.D., 1894-1957 - The Fargo forum and daily republican.
- Fargo, N.D., 1915-1921 - The nonpartisan leader.
- Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D., 1914-1929 - Sioux County pioneer.
- Grand Forks, N.D., 1906-1914 - The evening times.
- Grand Forks, N.D., 1914-1914 - Grand Forks daily herald and the evening times.
- Grand Forks, N.D., 1914-1916 - Grand Forks daily herald.
- Grand Forks, N.D., 1916-1955 - Grand Forks herald.
- Hope, N.D., 1882-1964 - The Hope pioneer.
- Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.], 1878-1882 - Jamestown alert.
- Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.], 1882-1925 - Jamestown weekly alert. [volume]
- Langdon, N.D., 1891-1920 - Courier Democrat.
- Langdon, N.D., 1920-1921 - Cavalier County farmers press.
- Little Missouri, Dakota [i.e. N.D.], 1884-1886 - The Bad Lands cow boy.
- Minot, Ward County, N.D., 1902-1965 - The Ward County independent.
- North Lemmon, Adams County, N.D., 1907-1912 - The State-line herald.
- Oakes, Dickey County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.], 1883-1898 - Oakes weekly Republican.
- Oakes, N.D., 1898-1906 - Oakes Republican.
- Oakes, N.D., 1906-current - The Oakes times.
- Pembina, Dakota [N.D.], 1883-1928 - The pioneer express.
- Rugby, Der Staats=Anzeiger.
- Valley City, N.D., 1912-1922 - The weekly times-record.
- Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.], 1879-1919 - The Wahpeton times.
- Washburn, McLean County, N.D., 1890-1986 - The Washburn leader.
- Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.], 1884-current - Emmons County record.
- Williston, Williams County, N.D., 1895-1919 - Williston graphic.
Google News Archive
- Beach - Golden Valley News
- Drayton - Valley News & Views
- Ellendale - Dickey County Leader
- Lake Metigoshe - Lake Metigoshe Mirror
- Medora - The Billings County Pioneer
- New Salem - The New Salem Journal
- Oakes - The Oakes Times
- Park River - Walsh County Press
- Rolla - Turtle Mountain Star
- Towner - Mouse River Farmers Press
- Towner - Mouse River Journal
- Wilmot - Wilmot Enterprise
County and Library Collections:
Bottineau Public Library
- Bottineau Courant
- Standard
- The Bottineau Courant And Bottineau County Herald
- The Western Call And Reeder Times
- Westhope Standard
Divide County Library
- Alkabo Gazette
- Ambrose Herald
- Ambrose Newsman
- Ambrose Tribune
- Census
- Columbus Reporter
- Crosby Eagle
- Crosby Review
- Divide County Farmers Press
- Divide County Farmers Press and Crosby Review
- Divide County Journal
- Fortuna Leader
- Foster County Independent
- Journal
- Kermit News
- Kermit Republican
- Mouse River Journal
- Noonan Miner
- Noonan Republican
- Stady Leader
- Westby News
- Wildrose Courant
- Wildrose Mixer
- Wildrose Plainsman
- Williams County Leader
- Williams County Mixer
- Williams County Plainsman
- Williams County Plainsman and Paddington Journal
- Willow Lake Wave
Morton County
Flasher
- Flasher Hustler
- Flasher Tribune
- Dogden News
North Dakota Archive
North Dakota Archives
- Ambrose Herald
- Ambrose Newsman
- Ambrose Tribune
- Beulah Independent
- Bottineau Courant
- Bottineau Courant
- Cando Record
- Cando Record
- Columbus Reporter
- Crosby Eagle
- Crosby Review
- Divide County Farmers Press
- Divide County Farmers Press and Crosby Review
- Divide County Journal
- Dogden News
- Dogden News
- Flasher Hustler
- Flasher Hustler
- Flasher Tribune
- Flasher Tribune
- Fortuna Leader
- Foster County Independent
- Hillsboro Banner
- Hillsboro Banner
- Journal
- Kermit News
- Kermit Republican
- Mouse River Journal
- New Town News and Sanish Sentinel
- Noonan Miner
- Noonan Republican
- Sanish Sentinel
- Stady Leader
- Standard
- Standard
- The Bottineau Courant And Bottineau County Herald
- The Bottineau Courant And Bottineau County Herald
- The Journal
- The Western Call And Reeder Times
- The Western Call And Reeder Times
- Towner County Record Herald
- Towner County Record Herald
- Westby News
- Westhope Standard
- Westhope Standard
- Wildrose Courant
- Wildrose Mixer
- Wildrose Plainsman
- Williams County Leader
- Williams County Mixer
- Williams County Plainsman
- Williams County Plainsman and Paddington Journal
- Willow Lake Wave
Traill County
Hillsboro
- Hillsboro Banner
Student Collections:
Bismarck State College - Bismarck Dickinson State University - Dickinson Ellendale High School - Ellendale Lake Region State College - Devils Lake Minot State University - Minot North Dakota State University - Fargo
- Spectrum (current issues archive)
- The Spectrum Index (Index only)
- The Spectrum Archives
- It's Happening at State, 1967-1998
- Bison Briefs, 1917 – Present (index only)
- Dakota Student Index
- Dakota Student Archives (recent only)
Miscellaneous Collections and Indexes:
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Newspapers 1933-1941
- Bismark - Golden Chevron (Company 4750)
- Lakota - C.C.C. Issue (Company 2760)
- Medora - Badlands Newsette (Company 2767)
- Trenton - Reclamation Review (Company 2772)
- Watford City - Badlander (Company 2772)
- Watford City - Camp News (Company 2772)
Independent Voices - Alternative Newspapers
- My Knot
Small Town Papers
- The Billings County Pioneer Beach, North Dakota
- The Dickey County Leader Ellendale, North Dakota
- Golden Valley News Beach, North Dakota
- Lake Metigoshe Mirror Bottineau, North Dakota
- Mouse River Journal Towner, North Dakota
- The New Salem Journal New Salem, North Dakota
- The Oakes Times Oakes, North Dakota
- Turtle Mountain Star Rolla, North Dakota
- Valley News and Views Drayton, North Dakota
- Walsh County Press Park River, North Dakota
Newspaper Abstracts - North Dakota
For Obituary Indexes, transcriptions, and other death/obituary information from historic newspapers, please check out the Obituaries page.
Other Free Sites:
Bismarck Bowbells Fargo
- Catholic New Earth
- Fargo Forum Newspaper Index, 1879-1995 (Index only)
- Nonpartisan Leader
- The Record, 1895-1905
- North Dakota Farmer
Subscription or Pay Sites:
Ancestry.com:
There are currently 21 publications available at this site. See all the titles at Ancestry - North Dakota Newspapers
Genealogy Bank:
There are currently 79 publications available at this site. See all the titles at Genealogy Bank - North Dakota Newspapers
Newspaper Archive:
There are currently 46 publications available at this site. See all the titles at Newspaper Archive - North Dakota
Newspapers.com:
There are currently 23 publications available at this site. See all the titles at Newspapers.com - North Dakota.
And Finally:
You also need to visit the State Historical Society site from time to time, which can tell you what is occurring in the state with regard to online newspaper availability. There are also other useful newspaper-related resources at that site.
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.
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
For more links for different states, provinces, and countries - please see the Newspaper Links page on this website.
For other Free North Dakota Links, click on the category of interest:
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