North Carolina Collection

Online Exhibits

Research Guides

Article Databases

Clipping Files

North Carolina Postcards

Online Catalog

Site Map

Local History Sources in the North Carolina Collection

The North Carolina Collection has materials on each the state's 100 counties. The collection attempts to acquire every published regional, county, and town history for North Carolina. The NCC also collects family histories, architectural guides, photographs, maps, city directories and phone books, and some published government recirds.

Online Catalog

The UNC Library's online catalog is the best place to start your search for materials on local history. Most (about 90%) of the holdings of the North Carolina Collection are cataloged online. To search for materials on a specific town or county, search by subject heading and enter the name of the location followed by "(N.C.)." For example, Graham County (N.C.). Most of the subject headings also include subheadings for more specific information and resources, for example, Wilmington (N.C.) -- Architecture or Asheville (N.C.) -- Newspapers.

Clipping Files

For more than a half century North Carolina Collection staff members have compiled and indexed articles from North Carolina newspapers. The clippings are bound and available for use in the NCC reading room. Indexes to most of the clippings are available on the newspaper clippings page on this website. The subject clippings include a wealth of material on places in North Carolina. Look first for the name of the county you are researching.

Photographs

The North Carolina Collection's Photographic Archives includes images from around the state. The online guide for the county collection contains sample images from each county in the state.

City Directories

The North Carolina Collection has an extensive collection of city directories from the mid nineteenth century through the present.

Phone Books

The North Carolina Collection also includes a large collection of phone books from towns all over the state.