New Grand Rapids Press Historical Archives Database Available to Patrons

History buffs, get ready to time travel! Kent District Library is now offering you a chance to go back in Michigan’s past with access to the Grand Rapids Press Historical Archives. Newspaper issues from 1893 to 1922 are accessible on your computer as a PDF. The database allows you to search by date or by keyword throughout the available collection.

Did you know that in 1905, a fur coat in Grand Rapids cost anywhere from $13-30.00, a husband had his wife sent to jail simply by claiming she was “insane,” and the temperature in Baldwin in February dropped to 30 degrees below zero? These papers give us a portal into the past and an opportunity to trace the tensions rising between European countries leading into World War I, the grand discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb, as well as covering stories from our own backyards.

Remote access to the collection from home is available with a KDL library card, but anyone can access the database from within our 18 branches (no library card required.)