Featured Articles
Route 66 Through Illinois: The Mother Road's Birthplace
Travel all 301 miles of Route 66 through Illinois - from Lou Mitchell's in Chicago to the Chain of Rocks Bridge. Discover which diners, motels, and roadside giants still remain.
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Al Capone's Chicago: Prohibition, Power & the Places That Remain
Explore 30+ historic locations tied to Al Capone from the Lexington Hotel to the Green Mill. Discover what remains of Chicago's gangster era and how to visit today.
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How to Research Your Home's History
Discover the fascinating past of your house using public records, archives, and local resources. Learn the step-by-step process to uncover who lived there before you.
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Understanding Historical Building Markers
What do those plaques and signs on old buildings actually mean? Learn how to read historical markers and understand the stories they tell about your community.
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Why Local History Matters
Local history connects us to our communities and helps us understand how we got here. Discover why preserving these stories is more important than ever.
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Guide to Finding Old Business Records
Research tips for discovering what businesses operated in your neighborhood decades or even centuries ago. From city directories to newspaper archives.
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What Business Used to Be at This Address?
Eight practical, mostly-free ways to find out what store, restaurant, or company once occupied any address — from city directories to historical Street View.
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Find Old Photos of Your House & Neighborhood
Where vintage photographs of your house, street, and town survive — historical societies, libraries, the Library of Congress, and more, with search tips.
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Preserving Historical Photos and Documents
Best practices for digitizing, storing, and sharing your family's historical photos and documents so future generations can enjoy them.
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When Was My House Built? 9 Ways to Find the Real Year
Assessor records, deeds, permits, fire-insurance maps, and clues hidden in the house itself — how to pin down the true construction year.
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Who Lived in My House Before Me?
Trace every past resident of your home using free census records, city directories, deeds, old newspapers, and voter rolls.
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How to Trace the Deed History of a Property
Follow a property's chain of title through county recorder records, grantor-grantee indexes, plat maps, and federal land patents.
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Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps: How to Read and Use Them
The color codes, symbols, and abbreviations on Sanborn maps — and how to use the Library of Congress's free collection to date any building.
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Old City Directories: Find and Use Them Free Online
City directories list who lived and worked at every address, year by year. Where to find them free and how to decode the entries.
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Free Historical Newspaper Archives
Chronicling America, state digital newspaper programs, and library access to paid databases — plus search tricks that beat bad OCR.
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How to Find Out Where Someone Is Buried
Nine free ways to locate a grave: Find a Grave, death certificates, obituaries, cemetery offices, and the VA gravesite locator.
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How to Research Your Family History for Free
A step-by-step plan using FamilySearch, free census records through 1950, state vital indexes, and your library's database access.
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How to Read Old Handwriting
Decode the long s, old scripts, and the abbreviations that fill deeds, wills, and censuses — with strategies that make any document readable.
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How to Research the History of an Old Building
Cornerstones, permits, Sanborn maps, HABS surveys, and National Register files — a step-by-step guide for any commercial or public building.
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How to Date Old Photos: 7 Clues That Reveal the Year
Photo formats, stamp boxes, clothing styles, and studio imprints — how to narrow any mystery photograph to a date range.
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How to Get a House on the National Register of Historic Places
What listing really means for owners, how to check if a property is already listed, and the SHPO nomination process step by step.
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