Local History Resources
This interactive map allows users to overlay historic aerials from 1938-Present over the current aerial.
The Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection website maintained by the University of Illinois Library includes links to digitized copies of the Daily Illini (1874-1975) as well as the Tolono Express (1895-96), and the Urbana Courier (1903-35).
The Champaign County Historical Archives has a diverse array of resources to aid in research on local history and genealogy. They range from databases that provide access to genealogical resources worldwide to unique collections that document local life from the 1830s to the present day. The majority of these materials are discoverable in our Local History Online Catalog.
The Champaign County Archives regularly adds photographs from their collection to their Flickr page. The images are categorized by topics in albums.
The Champaign County History Museum regularly adds photographs from their collection to their Flickr page. The images are categorized by topics in albums.
These city directories date from the late 19th century and allow users to view home and business addresses, occupations and spouses for residents, and cross referencing of street addresses.
These fire insurance maps are invaluable today because of the large amount of information each map contains. Through these maps you can decipher building material, use, number of floors, number of windows, and much more. They provide a terrific starting point for building research. Learn more about the reading these maps here.
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The Library of Congress has a complete set of Champaign maps available for the following years.
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