Local History
Library of Congress: Historic American Newspapers
The Library of Congress along with the National Endowment for the Humanities are sponsoring a project called "Chronicling America" as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program.
Vermont's newspapers published between1836 and 1922, previously available only on microfilm, have also gone digital as part of this project. Approximately 100,000 pages from 40 of Vermont's papers are available at no cost to the public with more being added.
Northern New York Historical Newspapers
New York State Historical Newspapers are provided to enhance access to New York's history. The online collection currently consists of more than 1,348,000 pages from forty newspapers.
UVM Special Collections
The University of Vermont Special Collections Department is located in the Bailey/Howe library on the campus. The collection is full of Vermont history including books, periodicals, maps, photographs, etc. Along with being able to search their catalog online, the department also has a digital initiative where many old photographs are available for viewing.
Vermont Genealogy Library
Genealogy research in Vermont can be conducted at the Vermont Genealogy Library at Fort Ethan Allen in Vermont. VTGENLIB also offers many classes on genealogical research as well as special interest groups. Information for the beginning or seasoned genealogist about how to trace ancestors. A great resource for French-Canadian research, the library also has Vermont birth, marriage and death records on microfilm and many city directories as well as access to Ancestry.com.
Vermont Historical Society
The Vermont Historical Society has a wealth of information pertaining to the entire history of the state. The VHS library and museum store are located in Barre. The museum is housed in Montpelier. More information can be found on their website. The library has a free pass to the museum for DAML cardholders.
Vermont State Archives
Courtesy of the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration and its partners, Ancestry.com and Newspapers.com, Vermonters have free access to Vermont records and Vermont historical newspapers when accessing the following Vermont Only links through the MyVermont.gov portal. To start create an account at myvermont.gov.
Ancestry.com (Vermont Records Only)
Newspapers.com (Vermont Newspapers Only)
Please note that Ancestry.com requires users to open a Free Account to access Vermont records through this link. After creating a Free Account, it is recommended that users first log into their Ancestry.com Free Account and then go through the MyVermont.gov portal to access the above Vermont Records Only link.
Williston Historical Society
The Williston Historical Society is housed in the Vermont Room of the library. The Vermont Room is open during library hours. For more information, or to make an appointment with a historical society member please email the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The Historical Society is volunteer run and as such there is not a member at the library to assist with research.
The Vermont Room contains many books relevant to Williston as well as displays of historical interest. Much of this material may only be used in this room. The society does not house vital records. For Williston vital records please contact the Williston Town Hall.
A book on the town history of Williston by Willard Sterne Randall and Nancy Nahra, published by the Williston Historical Society, Thomas Chittenden's Town: A Story of Williston Vermont is available for sale at the circulation desk.
Williston Observer
The library has copies of the Williston Observer in paper format from July 2003-present and on microfilm for the years 2003-2006. We also have the Williston Whistle from January 1994-December 2002 on microfilm and 1985-June 2003 in paper format and microfilm.