Tennessee is one of the states that does not have a 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 many of Tennessee's free online newspapers are available on the Library of Congress site. There are several 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 over 2,500 newspapers that have been published in the Volunteer 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 Tennessee 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 - Tennessee Newspapers
- Athens, Tenn., 1848-1917 - The Athens post.
- Benton, Tenn., 190?-191? - Polk County news-gazette.
- Benton, Tenn., 191?-1983 - Polk County news.
- Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn., 1865-1888 - The Bolivar bulletin.
- Bolivar, Tenn., 1888-1888 - The west Tennessee star.
- Bolivar, Tenn., 1888-1946 - The Bolivar bulletin.
- Bristol, Tenn., 1865-1867 - The news.
- Bristol, Va. & Tenn., 1867-189? - Bristol news.
- Brownsville, Tenn., 1???-1984 - The States-graphic.
- Camden, Tenn., 1890-current - The Camden chronicle.
- Carthage, Tenn., 1913-current - Carthage courier.
- Chattanooga, Tenn., 1862-1864 - The Chattanooga Daily Rebel.
- Chattanooga, Tenn., 1891-1939 - The Chattanooga news.
- Clarksville, Tenn, 1886-1890 - Clarksville evening chronicle.
- Clarksville, Tenn., 18??-185? - The Clarksville weekly chronicle.
- Clarksville, Tenn., 185?-1857 - Weekly Clarksville chronicle.
- Clarksville, Tenn., 1857-1865 - Clarksville chronicle.
- Clarksville, Tenn., 186?-1872 - Clarksville chronicle.
- Clarksville, Tenn., 1865-1867 - Clarksville weekly chronicle.
- Clarksville, Tenn., 1873-1890 - Clarksville weekly chronicle.
- Clarksville, Tenn., 1884-188? - Clarksville daily chronicle.
- Clarksville, Tenn., 1890-1890 - Clarksville evening tobacco leaf-chronicle.
- Clarksville, Tenn., 1890-1895 - Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle.
- Cleveland, Tenn., 1876-1888 - The weekly herald.
- Columbia, Tenn., 18??-1935 - The Columbia herald.
- Columbia, Tenn., 1850-1873 - The Columbia herald.
- Columbia, Tenn., 1873-188? - The herald and mail.
- Cookeville, Tenn., 1903-1922 - Putnam County herald.
- Covington, Tenn., 18??-current - The Covington leader.
- Crossville, Tenn., 1894-current - Crossville chronicle.
- Dickson, Tenn., 1907-1979 - The Dickson County herald.
- Dresden, Tenn., 1907-1997 - Dresden enterprise and Sharon tribune.
- Ducktown, Tenn., 1914-191? - The Polk County republican.
- Fayetteville, Tenn., 1850-1966 - Fayetteville observer.
- Gainesboro, Tenn., 1914-current - Jackson County sentinel.
- Greeneville, Tenn., 1875-1877 - Union and American.
- Greeneville, Tenn., 1877-18?? - The union.
- Greeneville, Tenn., 1918-1920 - The Greeneville daily sun.
- Huntingdon, Tenn., 188?-1971 - Carroll County democrat.
- Jackson, Tenn., 1870-1877 - Whig and tribune.
- Johnson City, Tenn., 1884-1916 - The comet.
- Johnson City, Tenn., 1916-1917 - The Johnson City comet.
- Johnson City, Tenn., 1917-19?? - The comet.
- Johnson City, Tenn., 1918-19?? - Johnson City comet.
- Jonesborough, Tenn., 1865-187? - The Union flag.
- Jonesborough, Tenn., 1869-current - Herald and tribune.
- Knoxville, Tenn., 1849-1855 - Brownlow's Knoxville Whig and independent journal.
- Knoxville, Tenn., 1855-1861 - Brownlow's Knoxville Whig.
- Knoxville, Tenn., 1859-1861 - Tri-weekly Whig.
- Knoxville, Tenn., 1861-1861 - Brownlow's weekly Whig.
- Knoxville, Tenn., 1863-1866 - Brownlow's Knoxville Whig, and rebel ventilator.
- Knoxville, Tenn., 1864-1866 - Knoxville tri-weekly Whig and rebel ventilator.
- Knoxville, Tenn., 1866-1869 - Brownlow's Knoxville Whig.
- Knoxville, Tenn., 1868-18?? - Brownlow's Knoxville Whig.
- Knoxville, Tenn., 1870-1875 - Knoxville weekly chronicle.
- Knoxville, Tenn., 1870-1882 - Knoxville daily chronicle.
- Knoxville, Tenn., 1875-1882 - Knoxville Whig and chronicle.
- Knoxville, Tenn., 1894-current - The Knoxville independent.
- Knoxville, Tenn., 1899-19?? - The Chilhowee echo.
- Lawrenceburg, Tenn., 1884-1925 - Lawrence democrat.
- Lexington, Tenn., 1884-current - The Lexington progress.
- Loudon, Tenn., 1852-1855 - Loudon free press.
- Maryville, Tenn., 1867-187? - Maryville Republican.
- Maryville, Tenn., 187?-187? - The Republican.
- Maryville, Tenn., 187?-1877 - Maryville Republican.
- Maryville, Tenn., 1879-1883 - Blount County democrat.
- Maryville, Tenn., 1884-1884 - Maryville daily times.
- Maryville, Tenn., 1884-1944 - The Maryville times.
- McMinnville, Tenn., 1879-current - Southern standard.
- Memphis, Tenn., 1847-1886 - Memphis daily appeal.
- Memphis, Tenn., 1862-186? - Daily union appeal.
- Memphis, Tenn., 1862-1862 - The Memphis union appeal.
- Memphis, Tenn., 1865-1893 - Public ledger.
- Memphis, Tenn., 1886-1890 - The Memphis appeal.
- Memphis, Tenn., 1907-1926 - The news scimitar.
- Milan, Gibson County, Tenn., 1874-1978 - The Milan exchange.
- Morristown, Tenn., 1867-1920 - The Morristown gazette.
- Nashville [Tenn.], 1837-1853 - The Nashville union.
- Nashville, Tenn., 1851-1855 - The Daily Nashville true Whig.
- Nashville, Tenn., 1853-1862 - Nashville union and American.
- Nashville, Tenn., 1855-1857 - Nashville daily patriot.
- Nashville, Tenn., 1857-1858 - Daily Nashville patriot.
- Nashville, Tenn., 1858-1860 - Nashville patriot.
- Nashville, Tenn., 1860-1862 - Daily Nashville patriot.
- Nashville, Tenn., 1862-1862 - Daily Nashville union.
- Nashville, Tenn., 1862-1866 - The Nashville daily union.
- Nashville, Tenn., 1862-1866 - The Nashville weekly union.
- Nashville, Tenn., 1865-1866 - Daily union and American.
- Nashville, Tenn., 1866-186? - Tri-weekly union and American.
- Nashville, Tenn., 1866-1868 - Nashville union and dispatch.
- Nashville, Tenn., 1866-187? - Tennessee staatszeitung. volume
- Nashville, Tenn., 1867-1867 - Wochenblatt der Tennessee staatszeitung.
- Nashville, Tenn., 1867-1869 - Tennessee staatszeitung.
- Nashville, Tenn., 1868-1875 - Nashville union and American.
- Nashville, Tenn., 1906-193? - The Nashville globe.
- Newport, Tenn., 1909-1939 - The Newport plain talk.
- Paris, Tenn., 1907-1962 - The Parisian.
- Pulaski, Tenn., 1866-current - The Pulaski citizen.
- Rugby, Morgan Co., Tenn., 1881-1882 - The Rugbeian.
- Rugby, Morgan Co., Tenn., 1884-188? - The Rugby gazette and east Tennessee news.
- Rugby, Morgan County, Tenn., 1890-189? - The Rugby news.
- Rugby, Tenn., 1882-1883 - The Rugbeian and district reporter.
- Rugby, Tenn., 1883-1884 - Plateau gazette and east Tennessee news.
- Rutledge, Tenn., 1917-current - Grainger County news.
- Savannah, Tenn., 1885-1979 - Savannah courier.
- Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn., 1902-1969 - McNairy County independent.
- Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn., 189?-1896 - The Sequachee news.
- Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn., 1896-1952 - Sequachee Valley news.
- Sneedville, Tenn., 191?-19?? - The Sneedville news.
- Somerville, Tenn., 190?-current - The Fayette falcon.
- Starkville, Miss., 1910-1920 - The progressive farmer and southern farm gazette.
- Sweetwater, Tenn., 1867-1869 - The Sweetwater forerunner.
- Sweetwater, Tenn., 1869-187? - The Sweetwater enterprise.
- Tracy City, Tenn., 1903-1930 - Mrs. Grundy.
- Tracy City, Tenn., 190?-1903 - Mrs. Grundy of Grundy.
- Union City, Tenn., 1897-190? - The commercial courier.
- Union City, Tenn., 190?-193? - Commercial.
- Wartburg, Tenn., 1916-1926 - The Morgan County press.
- Winchester, Tenn, 1862-1863 - The daily bulletin.
- Winchester, Tenn, 1863-1863 - Winchester daily bulletin.
- Winchester, Tenn., 1856-1856 - The Winchester appeal.
- Winchester, Tenn., 1856-1856 - The Winchester weekly appeal.
- Winchester, Tenn., 1857-1857 - The home journal.
- Winchester, Tenn., 1857-1858 - The Winchester home journal.
- Winchester, Tenn., 1858-188? - The home journal.
- Winchester, Tenn., 1863-1863 - Winchester army bulletin.
Google News Archive
- Church Hill - Hawkins County Post
- Cleveland - The Cleveland Banner
- Elizabethton - Elizabethton Star
- Kingsport - Post Daily News
- Kingsport - Daily Post News
- Kingsport - The Sunday Post
- Kingsport - Post Weekender
- Kingsport - Kingsport Post
- Knoxville - The Sunday Chronicle
- Knoxville - Chronicle Daily Knoxville
- Knoxville - Knoxville Daily Chronicle
Tennessee State Library and Archives (must be Tennessee resident)
- Chattanooga Daily Gazette 1864-1865
- Chattanooga Daily Rebel 1862-1863
- Chattanooga Advertiser 1844-1862
- Jonesborough Whig, and Independent Journal 1839-1843
- Memphis Appeal 1892-1899
- Nashville Union 1845-1868
- Maryville Republican 1876
County and Library Collections:
Chattanooga Newspapers
- Chattanooga Advertiser
- Chattanooga Commercial
- Chattanooga Daily American Union
- Chattanooga Daily Commercial
- Chattanooga Daily Gazette
- Chattanooga Daily Press
- Chattanooga Daily Rebel
- Chattanooga Daily Times
- Chattanooga Evening News
- Chattanooga News
- Chattanooga Press
- Chattanooga Sunday Commercial
- Chattanooga Sunday News
- Chattanooga Times
- Chattanooga Weekly Press
- Commercial
- Crabtrees Saturday Press
- Daily American Union
- Daily Commercial
- Hamilton Gazette
- Republican Press
- South Pittsburg Hustler
- The Chattanooga Daily Rebel
- The Chattanooga Daily Times
- The Chattanooga Dispatch
- The Chattanooga Gazette
- The Chattanooga Star
- The Chattanooga Sunday Times
- The Chattanooga Times
- The Chattanooga Daily Times
- The Daily Chattanooga Rebel
- The Daily Rebel
- The Daily Republican
- The Daily Times
- The Rebel
- The Southern Press
- The Times
Student Collections:
Austin Peay State University - Clarksville Baptist College of Health Sciences - Memphis Belmont University - Nashville Bethel University - McKenzie Bryan College - Dayton Christian Brothers University - Memphis Cumberland University - Lebanon East Tennessee University - Johnson City Fisk University - Nashville Freed-Hardeman University - Henderson Harpeth Hall School - Nashville Johnson University - Knoxville King University - Bristol Knoxville College - Knoxville Lane College - Jackson Lee University - Cleveland LeMoyne-Owen College - Memphis Lincoln Memorial University - Harrogate Lipscomb University - Nashville Martin Methodist College - Pulaski Maryville College - Maryville Memphis University School - Memphis Middle Tennessee State University - Murfreesboro Milligan College - Elizabethton Montgomery Bell Academy - Nashville Rhodes College - Memphis Southern Adventist University - Collegedale Tennessee State University - Nashville Tennessee Tech University - Cookeville Tennessee Wesleyan College - Athens Trevecca Nazarene University - Nashville Tusculum University - Greeneville Union University - Jackson University of Memphis - Memphis University of Tennessee - Chattanooga
- Echo
- University Lookout (1888-1889)
- University Echo (1906-1987)
- Student Echo (1988-1992)
- University Echo (1992-Present)
- UT Air Scoop
- UT Daily Beacon
- UT Independent Truth
- UT Mugwump
- Tennessee Alumnus
- The UT Humming Humbug
- The UT Torchbearer
- The UT Vocational Voice
- Sewanee Daily Purple, 1894-1903
- Sewanee Daily Times, 1894
- Sewanee Life, 1884
- Sewanee Times, 1892-1894
- The College Widow, 1896 - 1903
- The Daily Connoisseur, 1893
- The Dot, 1883
- The Flea, 1882
- The Mountain, 1891-1892
- The Mountain News, 1878-1880
- The News, 1876-1877
- The Semi-Weekly University News, 1878
- The Sewanee Purple, 1894 - present
- The Sewanee Purple
- The University Bulletin, 1879-1880
- The University Gossip, 1875
- The University News, 1875-1876
- The University Record, 1872-1875
- The University Record, 1879
- The Weekly Mountain News, 1878
Miscellaneous Collections and Indexes:
Independent Voices - Alternative Newspapers
- Chahta Anumpa - The Choctaw Times
- Napalm
- The Spread Eagle
- The People's Press
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Newspapers 1933-1942
- Adamsville - Camp Silver Creek (Company 498)
- Arthur - Pinnacle Press (Company 1262)
- Chattanooga - Scenic Center News (Company 420)
- Dyer - Camp Chat (Company 490)
- Ivy - Ivy Leaves (Company 417)
- Jackson - Blue Denim (Company 499)
- Jackson - Camp Pat Harrison Review (Company 499)
- Jackson - Cam-Pat-Chatter (Company 499)
- Jamestown - Pickett Park Pioneer (Company 447)
- LaFollette - Lafollette Lafrivol (Company 448)
- LaFollette - Reamer (Company 448)
- Lexington - Horseshoe (Company 496)
- Loyston - Dam Overflow (Company 297)
- Maynardville - Inkspot (Company 492)
- Maynardville - Lakeland Echo (Company 492)
- New Tazewell - 19 Times (Company 491)
- Norris - Camp Arrowhead News (Company 494)
- Norris - Norris Dam Advancer (Company 495)
- Norris - See See See (Company 284)
- Norris - Shadow (Company 253)
- Powell Station - Broadcaster From Camp Frank Maloney (Company 495)
- Powell Station - Co. 495 News (Company 495)
- Powell Station - Nu News (Company 495)
- Powell Station - Planter (Company 223)
- Powell Station - Rising Son (Company 292)
- Rutledge - Bob White (Company 3465)
- Sevierville - Pinnacle Echo (Company 1460)
- Sharps Chapel - Wiley Post (Company 448)
- Speedwell - Take Five (Company 267)
- St. Elmo - Liaison (Company 420)
- Thorn Hill - Camp Arrowhead News (Company 254)
- Tiptonville - Company Star (Company 1453)
Index to Early Memphis Newspapers
- American Eagle [newspaper] index
- Civil War in Memphis Newspapers - Index, 1860-1866
- Early Memphis Newspapers, Guide and Index
- Memphis Appeal [newspaper] index, 1843-1870
- Memphis Argus [newspaper] index, 1860-1866
- Memphis Avalanche [newspaper] index, 1860-1861, 1866-1870
- Memphis Bulletin [newspaper] index
- Memphis Eagle [newspaper] index
- Memphis Eagle and Enquirer [newspaper] index
- Memphis Enquirer [newspaper] index
- Memphis Public Ledger [newspaper] index, 1866
The Story of Marion County - Index
Southern School News Archive
TNGenWeb Historical News Index
Small Town Papers
- The News-Democrat Waverly, Tennessee
Old Fulton Postcards
- Chattanooga TN Daily Times 1873-1907
- Clarksville TN Gazette
- Clarksville TN Watchman
- Memphis TN Daily Appeal
- Nashville TN Union and American
- Rogersville TN Review
The Olden Times - Tennessee
Newspaper Abstracts - Tennessee
For Obituary Indexes, transcriptions, and other death/obituary information from historic newspapers, please check out the Obituaries page.
Other Free Sites:
Chattanooga Jackson Knoxville
- East Tennessee Catholic
- Brownlow's Knoxville Whig, and rebel ventilator 1863-1864
- Brownlow's Knoxville Whig 1858-1861
- Brownlow's Weekly Whig 1861
- Knoxville News Sentinel 1922-1990 (in library only)
- Tri-State Defender Archives
- The Southern Farmer
- Memphis: Commercial Appeal 1990- (index free, pay for articles)
- The Baptist
- Tennessee Baptist/Baptist and Reflector
- Baptist Press news releases 1948-1996
- Nashville Jewish Observer
- Tennessee Register
- The American
- The Tennessean
- The Tennessean
- Confederate Veteran
- Confederate Veteran Index
- Nashville Banner
- The Colored Tennessean
- The Colored Tennessean
- The Daily American
Subscription or Pay Sites:
Ancestry.com:
There are currently 22 publications available at this site. See all the titles at Ancestry - Tennessee Newspapers
Genealogy Bank:
There are currently 245 publications available at this site. See all the titles at Genealogy Bank - Tennessee Newspapers
Newspaper Archive:
There are currently 15 publications available at this site. See all the titles at Newspaper Archive - Tennessee
Newspapers.com:
There are currently 456 publications available at this site. See all the titles at Newspapers.com - Tennessee
And Finally:
You also need to check out the Tennessee Newspaper Digitization Project site, which can tell you what is happening in the state with regard to the newspapers that 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.
For other Free Tennessee Links, click on the category of interest:
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