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Local History Portal
Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center Portals
Organization • Genealogy • Local History
Welcome to the Wayne County Public Library Local History Portal.
Local History Resources
There are many resources available in our department. Our department has
newspapers on microfilm dating back to 1822. This resource may be very time consuming but very rewarding. Newspapers dating before 1870s do not include much local news. You may find the occasional
marriage or
death announcement. You may find listings of estate sales and legal notices that may provide clues to other resources to consider.
As the turn of the 20th century approaches, the local newspapers were social columns. Such items as births, marriage, and death announcements may be listed. Also, you may find information on who is visiting who and where the visit takes place. Information about military, and community involvement may be found. Wayne County School Reunions, family reunions, and information pertaining to local churches and businesses may be mentioned.
Through the years, many newspapers articles have been clipped on specific topics. Some of these may be found in the
lateral files. Other clippings may be found in a variety of 3-ring notebooks and organized according to subject. Information on historical
businesses may be found in the
business collection and township articles in the township notebooks. Some of the information will become available through the Wayne County (OH) Wiki.
About Local History Portal
The local history portal focuses on history of
Wayne County, Ohio including township histories and information pertaining to the towns and cities of long ago through present day. It is the desire to provide information on businesses, churches, schools, residences, non-profit organizations, military information and many other components of history. When available, digital images will be uploaded to the Wayne County (OH) Wiki to enhance the experience of our researchers. However, to compile a comprehensive history of
Wayne County, Ohio, it takes time and volunteers--both of which are in great demand. If your are interested in helping "populate" the local history portal, please contact Deb in the
Genealogy and Local History Department.
General information regarding the history of
Wayne County, Ohio may be found by choosing one of the record types listed in the "Main" tab. For images pertaining to local history, see the other two tabs:
Digital Collection and
Historical Atlas. To go directly to a township page, use the search field and type in the full township name, full county name, and full state name.
Do not use abbreviations. For example,if you are interested in finding information on Plain Township, type in "
Plain Township, Wayne County, Ohio". If you are interested in finding information on a town or city in
Wayne County, type in the search field the full name of the town and the full name of the state. For example, if you are interested in information on Doylestown, type "
Doylestown, Ohio".
About Digital Collection Tab
The Digital Collection includes links to images of
churches,
schools, businesses and residents. In addition, local historian
Harry S. McClarran has agreed to loan us some photos from his extensive collection to add to the Wiki. In honor of his years of work, we have an entire section on Wiki devoted to his collection.
The Digital Collection has a place for individuals to submit copies of their photographs and documents. If interested, please contact the department.
About Historical Atlas Tab
The Historical Atlases tab includes links to early plat maps of
Wayne County, Ohio.
Images of historical directories and business letterheads may be found through the [ https://www.wcpl.info/wiki/index.php/Portal:Business/Directory Business Gallery] located through the Business Portal.
Images to the Digital Collection and images with indexes for the Historical Atlases will be added as they become available and time permits.