Digitized Newspapers

Various Lancaster County newspapers have been digitized and are available for free online. Below you will find the digitized newspapers LancasterHistory offers online, as well as additional newspapers digitized by other organizations in the county.

The Columbia Spy

The Columbia Spy began publication June 17, 1830, with John L. Boswell as the editor and publisher. 22-year old Boswell came to Columbia from Hartford, Connecticut, where he served an apprenticeship with The Courant. The paper was allegedly named "Spy" to reflect the strong anti-slavery sentiment in the community. More history about the Columbia Spy's early days can be found in the article "John L. Boswell and The Columbia Spy" by Robert L. Goodell.

The Lancaster Intelligencer & Lancaster Daily Intelligencer

Penn State University Libraries' Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive has digitized the following years of the Lancaster Intelligencer:

Digitization of the Civil War years (1848-1871) of The Intelligencer Journal was completed as part of Penn State University Libraries' Pennsylvania Newspaper Project, creating the Pennsylvania Civil War Era Newspaper Collection.

The Lancaster Examiner & Herald

The Lancaster Examiner & Herald began publication as The Lancaster Examiner in 1830 and merged with the Anti-Masonic Herald in 1834. It was published weekly in Lancaster, PA during the middle of the 19th century, and continued publication as The Lancaster Examiner at least as late as December 1891. By digitizing the years 1834-1872, LancasterHistory provides the public with a view of politics and events of this tumultuous period in American history that balances the perspective of The Intelligencer Journal.

The Lancaster Farmer

As part of a mass digitization collaborative with Lyrasis, LancasterHistory digitized its complete run of The Lancaster Farmer, spanning the years 1869 to 1884 (Volumes 1-16). The Farmer began publication as a monthly journal in 1869 under the auspices of the Lancaster County Agricultural and Horticultural Society. Edited by Simon S. Rathvon and published by Wylie & Griest in the City of Lancaster, The Lancaster Farmer was "devoted to Agriculture, Horticulture, Mechanics, and general correlative Miscellany" and was meant to be "a gatherer and disseminator of facts, relating to these specialties, rather than the promulgator of more theories..." AS such, the editorial and publishing committees invited individuals throughout Lancaster County to submit "such facts as it may be profitable for the public to know." The reader will find useful information on a wide variety of topics, ranging from "Advice to Working Men," to "Edible Fungi," to "The Cellular Tissue of Plants."

Instructions for Using The Lancaster Farmer

  1. Click on the title of the volume you wish to view.
  2. On the left, you will see a list of choices for modes of viewing the item. Larger files will take longer to load.
  3. If you wish to conduct a full-text search of the volume, select either "Read Online" or "PDF Mode."
  4. To search in "Read Online" mode, enter your search term in the search box in the upper right of the screen.
  5. To search in "PDF" mode, click on the binoculars icon on the left and enter your search term in the box that appears.
Lititz Newspaper Collection

The Lititz Newspaper Collection contains issues from 1877 to 1936 of The Lititz Record and from 1937-1942 of its successor, The Lititz Record Express.

The New Holland Clarion

The New Holland Clarion was published weekly in New Holland, Lancaster County, PA from 1873-1984. The newspaper provided the local news, world and regional news, information on social events and businesses, and historical sketches of New Holland. This particular digitized collection includes issues from 1873 to 1950.

 

Microfilm is available for major Lancaster County newspapers and various other communities in the county. We encourage you to visit LancasterHistory in-person or send us a Research Request should you need to inquire about a specific newspaper on microfilm.

Newspapers available on microfilm at LancasterHistory.