Access now with a valid MY Link card.

• Ancestry Library Edition (temporary remote access through Sept 2021)
• HistoryGeo (temporary remote access through September 2021)
• Houston Chronicle Historical Archive 1901-2017 (digital microfilm)
• Dallas Morning News Historical Archive 1885-1977 (digital microfilm)
• NewspaperArchive (Remote Access) Houston Post (1903-1924) and Daily Court Review (1925-1977).
  
• NewspaperArchive (In-Library Use)
• Texas Digital Sanborn Maps
• Texas Reference Center

Houston Metropolitan Research Center (HMRC)Resources

Architectural Archives Database: Houston Metropolitan Research Center (HMRC) Collection.

• Index to records of architectural drawings owned by the HMRC, primarily for structures in the Houston area.

Archival collections

• Database containing the finding aids for HMRC’s archival collections. Finding aids are descriptive documents listing the contents of the collections, a sort of extended table of contents. These unique materials are only available in the archival repositories of the Houston Public Library.

Houston Metropolitan Research Center (HMRC) Digital Archive

• Section of the Houston Public Library Digital Archives containing digital copies of materials held by the HMRC. Included are architectural drawings, oral histories, magazines, photographs, maps, reports, scrapbooks, and various other items found within the archival collections.

Photographic Archives Database: Houston Metropolitan Research Center (HMRC)Collection.

• Index to records for 139,024 of the images owned by the HMRC.

Yearbooks (Coming soon!)

For more information on the HMRC check out the Special Collections web page!

Handouts

• How to research historic properties

Just for fun

• Digital Jigsaw Puzzles
• Take a Virtual Tour of The Houston Metropolitan Research Center

About Texas

• Texas State Library and Archives Commission web site containing historical and current statistics, and other useful information about the State of Texas.

Ancestry.com Texas

• Texas state records that have been digitized by Ancestry are available to Texas residents for free. Users are required to create a free Ancestry.com Texas account. Click the link for a list of what is available and instructions on how to create an account

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers

• Digitized newspapers hosted by the Library of Congress. Includes The Houston Daily Post (12/1/1893--2/28/1903) and The Jewish Herald (Houston) (9/24/1908--12/29/1910).

Haith Trust Digital Library

• Contains thousands of books and journals about Texas. Includes, among other things, Complete guide to Houston Texas (1895), Houston "where seventeen railroads meet the sea (1913), Illustrated city book of Houston for 1910, 1914, and 1917, and Progressive Houston (1909-1913). Books published prior to 1923 are available for download

Handbook of Houston

• Digital encyclopedia containing more than 1,250 entries highlighting the significant impact Houston has had on the state, the nation, and the world. This joint project of the Houston History Alliance and the Texas State Historical Association is an authoritative source on Houston history.

Handbook of Texas

• Digital state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association. Contains overview, general, and biographical entries focused on the entire history of Texas from the indigenous Native Americans and the Prehistoric Era to the state’s diverse population and the Modern Age.

Harris County Archives

• Founded in 2002, the Harris County Archives houses historical records from over 70 county offices. The web site has finding aids for their archival collections and a number of digitized maps.

Harris County Digital Archives

• Digital collections created primarily by the Harris County Archives. The" Housing, neighborhoods, and transportation collection" includes many subdivision plats for Houston neighborhoods.

Houston data, insight & analysis

• Statistical information and reports supplied by the Greater Houston Partnership.

Internet Archive

• Contains thousands of books and journals about Texas. Includes, among other things, the Annual message of the mayor of the City of Houston for 1902-1913, City book of Houston for 1908-1909, 1925, and 1928, Municipal Book, City of Houston for 1922 and 1928, Men of Affairs in Houston and environs (Houston Press Club, 1913), and B.H. Carroll’s Standard History of Houston, Texas (1912). Books published prior to 1923 are available for download, and modern books can be borrowed through the Open Library site.

Portal to Texas History

• Rare, historical, and primary source materials from or about Texas.

Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI)

• Digitized home movies, amateur films, advertisements, local television, and industrial and corporate productions.

Texas Archival Resources Online

• Finding aids to archival materials in Texas, including those of the Houston Metropolitan Research Center.