Top Ten Resources for Armchair Historians in the Pacific Northwest

For years now, I’ve been researching the history of a long-defunct boys’ orphanage near my home in the Pacific Northwest while wrangling three little boys and going to grad school––please send Hail Marys. Time and silence being what they are­­, online resources make my work possible. When my research can't be done during a 2 am fever watch or while watching Grey’s Anatomy reruns, online resources allow for carefully planned field trips that make the most of every precious moment away.

While this isn’t an exhaustive list, these are resources I’ve found especially useful in online research, ones I found myself returning to, or ones I find particularly interesting. They are, almost exclusively, focused on Pacific Northwest history with a bent towards the Seattle area but are meant to inspire you to look for similar resources in your region. If you're looking for a more exhaustive list of local resources, see my Books History Nerds in the Pacific Northwest History Nerds Need.

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1. HistoryLink.org – HistoryLink.org is the first and largest online encyclopedia of regional history. When research draws me to regions outside the Pacific Northwest, I’m reminded of how fortunate we are to have HistoryLink.org. When researching any facet of northwest history, HistoryLink.org is the first stop for essential information and an enviable list of additional resources.

2. Chronicling America – In partnership with the Library of Congress, Chronicling America is committed to developing a “...searchable database of U.S. newspapers with descriptive information and select digitization of historic pages.” You’ll find larger papers like the Seattle PI but, thanks to the National Endowment for the Humanities, issues of small rural papers like Port Townsend’s The Argus from as early as 1884. For family historians, Chronicling America offers free access to insights into small-town life in the Pacific Northwest and across America.

3. Seattle Public Library – The Seattle Public Library Foundation has made every issue of the Seattle Times and the most issues of the Seattle Post Intelligencer available digitally. What? That’s right. If you’ve ever wondered about the front-page news on your grandma’s birthday in 1942, mystery solved. And here’s a free pro-tip: writers in search of real-life inspiration need only get lost down the rabbit hole of early 20th-century journalism.

4. University of Washington Digital Collections – The University of Washington libraries provide a plethora of digital collections free to anyone interested in Pacific Northwest history. The collections are diverse and unique—Civil War Letters, American Indians of the Pacific Northwest, Early Advertising of The West—and include photographs, maps, and images of collection items. The University of Washington isn’t unmatched in making digital collections available. Search the state university nearest you for collections unique to your region.

5. Washington State Library Digital Collections – The Washington State Library, or your home state’s library system, is a resource often neglected by family historians and writers. The library’s most interesting digital collection is its historical books including the specifically named memoir written by Father JBA Brouillet in 1869 An Authentic Account of the Murder of Dr. Whitman and Other Missionaries, by the Cayuse Indian of Oregon, in 1847, and the Causes Which Led to the Horrible Catastrophe, and Daughter of Old Chief Seattle written by Seattle pioneer Henry Yesler in 1875. Historical books like these were previously difficult to access by the public.

6. King County Library Genealogy – I don’t mean to brag, but the King County Library system is one of the best library systems in the United States. Genealogical resources include free access to Federal Census data (no Ancestry.com account necessary) and extensive how-to material for new family historians. If you’re unlucky enough to live outside of King County, Washington, don’t neglect the online resources your local library provides.

7. White River Valley Museum – Fewer and fewer small historical societies are available to care for items relevant mostly to locals. In my community, we’re fortunate to have had our municipality adopt the museum founded by our historical society, ensuring funding and stability. In addition to being a place for local artists and exhibits of local interests, they’ve curated digital resources, like photographs and maps, available to the public. If the White River Valley, south of Seattle, isn’t of particular interest to you, find a local historical society in your community.

8. MOHAI – The Museum of History and Industry has a home on the shores of Seattle’s Lake Union in an old US Coast Guard building. While the sprawling grounds and marine exhibits make the trip well worth it, its online photographic collections are a fantastic resource. Photos and images include an 1870 revolver, a 1940s kitchen, and a 1906 photo of ships on Elliot Bay. The collection also includes advertising and flyers: a 1925 tourist guide to Seattle, a booklet of oyster recipes circa 1955, and a flyer for the 1999 WTO riots.

9. Seattle Then/Now – In 1981, Seattle Times photographer Paul Dorpat began observing the Puget Sound region’s quickly changing landscape by recreating historical photos and laying them aside their modern counterpart. Dorpat’s photos have given my work landscape and helped me to see how every Pacific Northwest vista embodies our history. Although I highly recommend his books, his website offers interested readers digital copies of all of his Seattle Times columns.

10. Clarence Bagley – While historian Clarence Bagley is no Stephen Ambrose, his meticulous research in books like History of Seattle from the Earliest Settlement to the Present, circa 1916, and others make him an important resource in the search for Pacific Northwest history. Minute historical details make Bagley especially useful for family historians. His works, most of which are over a hundred years old are available on Google Books. Google books’ searchability means not having to wade through Bagley’s thick prose and getting straight to the topic at hand.