Local History & Genealogy Resources

Historic Cherry County Newspapers Now Digitized and Searchable

We’re excited to announce the completion of a major local history preservation project at Valentine Public Library! With the support of the Pestel Charitable Foundation, the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation, and the Valentine Library Foundation we’ve successfully digitized 134 rolls of vintage newspapers—now available for anyone to search, browse, and explore online. You can access the digital archive here: https://valentine.historyarchives.online/home

This project is an incredible resource for researchers, students, genealogists, and anyone interested in the history of Valentine and Cherry County. These newspapers capture decades of daily life, community events, political changes, family milestones, and local stories that shaped our region. By digitizing and making them searchable, we’ve opened a window to the past that can now be accessed from anywhere.

Preserving these newspapers in a digital format also ensures they remain safe for future generations. Old microfilm and paper copies are vulnerable to deterioration over time, but digital archives allow us to protect and share this valuable content indefinitely. It’s a major step toward keeping our shared history accessible, discoverable, and safe.

Newspapers now available in the archive include:

  • The Valentine Newspaper (1958–1987): 39,794 pages
  • Valentine Republican (1888–1958): 32,103 pages
  • The Valentine Democrat (1896–1930): 13,095 pages
  • Cherry County News (1930–1957): 12,249 pages
  • The Cody Cowboy (1900–1927): 9,593 pages
  • The Wood Lake Stockman (1914–1941): 8,944 pages
  • Merriman Maverick (1910–1928): 7,550 pages
  • The Crookston Herald (1913–1921): 2,929 pages
  • The Searchlight (1913–1918): 2,061 pages
  • Nebraska News (1912–1917): 1,654 pages
  • The Cody Round Up (1936–1943): 1,629 pages
  • The Democratic Blade (1885–1888): 1,218 pages
  • The Wood Lake Steamer (1911–1914): 1,112 pages
  • Western News Democrat (1898–1900): 805 pages
  • The Valentine Reporter (1883–1884): 192 pages
  • Cherry County Independent (1892–1896): 64 pages

We are proud to help preserve and share the stories of our past. Thank you again to the Pestel Charitable Foundation, the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation, and the Valentine Public Library Foundation for making this possible!

1950s Census Records Available

The 1950 census records were released by the U.S. National Archives on April 1, 2022. This website provides full access to the 1950 census images, including population schedules, enumeration district maps, and enumeration district descriptions

https://1950census.archives.gov

Local Genealogy Websites

Cherry County – www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/county/cherry
Brown County – www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nebrown
Keya Paha County – www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/county/keyapaha

Genealogical Reference

Cyndi’s List – http://www.cyndislist.com/

Free General Genealogical Websites

www.familysearch.org
www.rootsweb.com
www.usgenweb.org

Free Cemetery Websites

www.findagrave.com
http://www.interment.net/

VA Cemetery Lookup

Immigration Websites

Castle Garden – www.castlegarden.org
Ellis Island – www.ellisisland.org

Additional Tools and Websites

Why You Should Dig Up Your Family’s History — and How to Do It https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/03/smarter-living/why-you-should-dig-up-your-familys-history-and-how-to-do-it.html

Getting Started in Genealogy https://www.americanancestors.org/education/learning-resources/read/getting-started

19 Places to Research Your Family Tree for Free https://www.thoughtco.com/research-family-tree-for-free-1421967

5 Exciting Activities to Teach Your Kids About Their Family History https://juniorgenealogist.com/blog/2020/08/19/5-exciting-activities-to-teach-your-kids-about-their-family-history/

A Guide to Tracing American Indian & Alaska Native Ancestry https://bia.gov/sites/bia.gov/files/assets/foia/ois/pdf/idc-002619.pdf

Researching The History Of Your Home: Learn How to Explore the History of Your Dwelling https://www.mortgagecalculator.org/helpful-advice/researching-home-history.php

How to Dig Into the History of Your City, Town, or Neighborhood https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-to-research-hometown-history

Census Records https://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy/census

We do have a couple of online resources for digital newspapers from our area. Take a look https://nebnewspapers.unl.edu/newspapers/ and https://www.newspapers.com/papers/?sort=title#p_place=NE&containing=valentine

Need to research at the library but unable to visit in person?

Researching at the library archives is available for a small fee. Please read our policy for more info https://valentinelibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Genealogy-Policy.pdf