Over 109,000 pages of 19th- and early 20th-century newspapers from 34 of Georgia’s counties are now available freely online on the Georgia Historic Newspapers (GHN) portal. GHN contains the largest free online collection of Georgia newspapers.

Thanks to a $27,104 grant from the R.J. Taylor Foundation, 120 titles from 34 Blue Ridge Mountain and Coastal Plain counties join the over 900 fully-searchable titles already available. This is the fifth project funded by the foundation.

The collection documents the expansion of newspaper publishing to smaller Georgia communities and towns. By the turn of the 20 century, over 300 titles circulated around the state. Yet few of those titles still continue to publish.

Still publishing today, Crawfordville’s Advocate-Democrat, which began in 1893 was one of the few Georgia Populist newspapers, and its first 13 years are now available. Named for Alexander Graham Bell’s invention, the Sylvania Telephone began publishing in 1879 and continues to publish weekly. Users can see over two decades of the Telephone’s earliest issues.

Short-lived newspapers in the collection include Murray County’s Spring Place Jimplecute, Clinch County’s DuPont Okefenokean, and Effingham County’s Baptist Reporter.

State, regional, and national news appeared alongside local societal news, ads from nearby businesses, reports on developments in farming, and even long-forgotten southern recipes submitted by county residents.

Digital Library of Georgia director Sheila McAlister notes, “The newest addition to our newspaper portal is a fascinating look at the growth of the newspaper industry in Georgia and communities’ reactions to the New South's hopes for industrialization. These local, rural papers provide us with a snapshot of life during this transitional period. We appreciate the continued support of the R.J. Taylor, Jr. Foundation.”

For a full list of titles, cities, and counties in this new release, visit the DLG blog.