How To Access the Historical Dallas Morning News Archive
by Paula Bosse
The old Dallas Morning News building (click for larger image)
by Paula Bosse
(UPDATED Dec. 31, 2019. This continues to be the most popular and most frequently accessed of all Flashback Dallas posts. The online DMN archives — via the Dallas Public Library website — is frequently updated/redesigned. I try to update this page after each potentially confusing update. Scroll down for step-by-step instructions on how to access the DMN archives. I have recently come to realize that these steps might be slightly different for those using Mac computers.)
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Yesterday I wrote about how I tracked down the location of a photograph with very little information to go on. I hesitated to include the step-by-step process I used to discover the location, because I was afraid that it would be a little too tediously arcane for most people. But, apparently I was wrong. I’ve been surprised by how popular the post has become. It’s gotten many more hits than most Flashback Dallas posts usually do. I’ve seen it shared all over Facebook, and it’s generated more comments and emails than I expected. It’s gratifying that people seem to be interested in the actual process of historical research. Even though I don’t necessarily consider myself a historian (I studied Art History in college, and my background is in bookselling), I’m happy to be able to share historical events and forgotten local tidbits with an audience that finds them as interesting as I do. I consider myself a writer and researcher, and sometimes all the fun is in the researching.
Since I began this blog in February of 2014, I’ve been asked several times how I access the Dallas Morning News archive. Without question, the DMN is the single most valuable resource in the study of Dallas history. Years ago, one would have had to trudge to a library and crank up a microfilm or microfiche reader. Luckily, we are in the digital age, and every edition of the DMN from 1885 to the end of 1984 has been scanned and digitized and can be viewed from the comfort of one’s own home. (Also available in this database are various Fort Worth newspapers — from The Fort Worth Register to The Fort Worth Star-Telegram — from at least 1897 to 1990, which is, of course, very handy!) You can view the paper page by page, article by article, photo by photo, comic strip by comic strip, ad by ad. It’s incredible. You’ll get lost in it for hours. Want to know what was going on 100 years ago today? Easy! Here’s the front page of the DMN from July 30, 1915:
DMN, July 30, 1915
So how do you do it? First off, you have to live in the city of Dallas — bad news for those of you living outside the city limits, I’m afraid. (UPDATE: THERE IS A WAY FOR NON-RESIDENTS TO ACCESS THE ARCHIVE — FOR A MONTHLY FEE. SEE UPDATE AT BOTTOM OF THIS POST.) For those of us who do live inside the city limits, not only can we access the database whenever we want, but it’s also FREE. All you need is a Dallas Public Library card (information on how to get a free card is here; the DPL’s FAQ is here).
So your first step is to get a library card. Once you have a card, go to the Dallas Public Library site’s “My Account” page, here, to sign up for the free account. You’re now ready to plunge in.
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HOW TO ACCESS THE “DALLAS MORNING NEWS ARCHIVES”
- Log in to your Dallas Public Library account.
- Click on “DATABASES.”
- Scroll down, click on “MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS & JOURNALS.”
- Scroll down, click on “DALLAS MORNING NEWS ARCHIVE.”
- This gets you to a screen where you can search through DMN archives from 1885 to 1984 (results will show scanned images/articles as they appeared in the newspaper when originally published) as well as DMN archives for articles published after 1984 (these results will be text-only — no images). Wave goodbye to big chunks of time as you sit in front of your computer searching and reading and searching and reading.
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ACCESS FORT WORTH PAPERS ONLY:
- Follow the instructions above. When you reach the main search page, click “Fort Worth Star-Telegram” under “SHORTCUTS” in the left column. This brings up archives for both the FWST as well as The Fort Worth Register. Full scans are available for editions published between 1897 and 1990; after that, it’s text-only.
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ACCESS THE FULLY SCANNED “HISTORICAL” DALLAS AND FORT WORTH PAPERS SIMULTANEOUSLY:
- Follow the steps above. When you reach the main search page, at the top of the left column, under “Search by” click “COLLECTION,” then click on “America’s Historical Newspapers” — you can now search the fully scanned Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Register, and Fort Worth Telegram/Star-Telegram, going back to 1885.
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ACCESS OTHER TEXAS AND U.S. NEWSPAPERS: To search other (text-only) newspapers (almost none of which go back more than 10 or 15 years), see the options in the left column after having reached the main search page. Consider filters where you can pick several papers to search at once, excluding those that you don’t need. It’s always confusing after a major re-do of a site, so you just have to play around with it until you figure out how everything works. …Then have everything change again when you finally get comfortable with it.
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Note: I find it easiest to SET THE “SORT” OPTION TO “CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER” (so that the results are shown from oldest to most recent) — the default is “Best Matches First” which drives me crazy because the first match is rarely the best, and everything is out of order.
Note: The difference between the “historical” and post-1984 Dallas Morning News archives is that the “historical” (1885-1984) search results include images of fully scanned editions of the newspaper — you see everything the way it looked in the actual newspaper: you can see entire pages as well as individual articles, photos, illustrations, comic strips, ads, classifieds, etc. You do not see any of this in the post-1984 results — the information is still useful, but it’s not as interesting and, maddeningly, not as comprehensive. I tend to use one or the other, otherwise, too many non-applicable results are returned.
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It takes a good bit of time to figure out how to use the search engine quickly and effectively — it has a lot of weird little idiosyncrasies that can cause you to miss out on lots of things you’re searching for (apostrophes, initials, and numbers can be extremely problematic) — but once you start to wander around, you’ll be amazed at what an incredible treasure trove is at your fingertips.
Thank you, Dallas Public Library and Dallas Morning News!
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Sources & Notes
Photo at top: “Lintel and pediment above doorway, Commerce St. entrance,” ca. 1930s, from the Belo Records collection, DeGolyer Library, Central University Libraries, Southern Methodist University; photo and details are here.
The best newspaper database for those interested in Texas history is UNT’s Portal to Texas History Texas Digital Newspaper database, here. They have tons of scanned and digitized historical Texas newspapers (excluding The Dallas News), AND it’s free and available to everyone. Below are a few of their offerings of particular interest to Dallasites:
- The Dallas Herald — absolutely ESSENTIAL for Dallas goings-on between 1855 and 1887, here
- The Southern Mercury, the agriculturally-leaning paper published in Dallas, 1888-1907, here
- The Dallas Express — a newspaper printed by and for the city’s African-American community — ALSO essential — sadly, only the years 1919-1924 have been scanned, here
- The Jewish Monitor — published in Fort Worth, serving the DFW (and Texas) Jewish community, 1919-1921, here
- The Texas Jewish Post, 1950-2011, here
Check out all the Texas newspapers UNT has scanned: go to the Advanced Search page and scroll down the “Collections” menu bar to see the full list.
**If you need some research done, I might be able to help. I have access to several resources and am pretty thorough. Let me know what you’re looking for and inquire on hourly rates by clicking the “Contact” tab at the top of the page.**
Enjoy!
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7/31/15 — UPDATE: GENEALOGYBANK.COM — HOW TO ACCESS THE HISTORICAL DALLAS MORNING NEWS ARCHIVE IF YOU ARE NOT A DALLAS RESIDENT: While looking for something completely unrelated, I came across a comment by someone who said he accessed the Dallas Morning News archives — historical and modern — through a site called GenealogyBank.com. It sounds like something similar to Ancestry.com where you are given access to several different types of resources used in genealogical research. The website indicates the cost is $19.95/month or $69.95/year. There is a free 30-day trial (but if you don’t cancel it and explicitly tell them you are canceling, they will automatically charge you and you will NOT get your money back). This is the first I’ve ever heard of this site, so I have no idea whether it’s good or bad. (The parent company of GenealogyBank is NewsBank, the company that manages the DMN archive accessible through the Dallas Public Library.) I did ask on a Dallas history group tonight, and a trusted member said that he uses it all the time. He posted a few screenshots, and it’s very similar to the archive accessed through the library’s website. For those interested, you might want to try the free trial to see if it’s something you’d be interested in subscribing to. This is pretty cool, because it offers people who live outside the city limits the ability to access the DMN archives for a relatively small fee each month. I am not promoting or endorsing this site because I had never even heard of it until an hour or two ago. I’d love to hear feedback from people who try it out. The Genealogy Bank website is here. A review of the site from About.com is here. I encourage you to check other consumer sites for pros and cons. I hope this is helpful for those of you who, for some reason, choose to live away from Dallas!
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Copyright © 2015-2017 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.
Thank you very much Paula for this very interesting and helpful information. Your guidance led me right to an article I’ve been wanting to find for a long time.
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Glad to hear that, Danny! I’m surprised by how few people are aware that they can do this. I can’t imagine ANYONE who wouldn’t enjoy searching around the archive — even people who swear they have no interest in “history.”
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What is the best way to find DMN articles from the 1990’s?
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Hi, Reagan. I’ve updated the post to be a bit more clear on how to get to DMN articles from 1985 to present-day. These articles will not be scans, they are merely text, so no images (photos, ads, comics, etc.). And I don’t think they are comprehensive — meaning I’m not sure all published articles are available. If you need a scan or photo — or if you are looking for an article that you cannot access via this archive — you may have to visit the downtown Dallas Public Library. I don’t know if every post-1984 copy of the paper is physically there, or if those papers have been indexed, but it’s worth a call to the DPL to find out. Good luck!
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Damn you Paula! just what i did NOT need, another excuse to spend more endless hours on the internet.
seriously, what a great tool, what a fascinating “time machine”. many thanks.
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I know! You’ll be lost in there for DAYS!
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the post-1984 archives are indeed a let down — not being able to see the photos and how the article actually looked in the paper is disappointing. and the ads/classifieds sometimes tell as much about an era as the news stories do! also, just browsing through the front pages is incredibly entertaining. surely the 1985+ papers are still available somewhere in their original form, and hopefully at some point they will get archived like the earlier stuff is.
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That would be great. Of course what everyone who’s interested in this sort of thing REALLY wants is for the Dallas Times Herald to be digitized and made available online – or just digitized, period. The DTH archives are owned by the DMN, and, from what I gather, the DTH will NEVER be digitized. Every time I think about that I get upset.
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totally agree with you. the DMN has a social responsibility to do just that.
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I believe you *can* access the Dallas Times Herald archive, just not in digitized form. I think you can view it at the downtown Dallas library and, I think, at the Dallas Historical Society in Fair Park.
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I’m trying to find the article about my friend that died in Garland Texas in April of 1991. Cheryl Guntorus.
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[…] indispensable online historical archive of The Dallas Morning News, beginning in 1885 (that post is here), but I haven’t written about using the equally important database(s) containing scans of […]
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Hi, I’m not a Texas Resident and really need access to the Dallas Morning News archives this weekend (my term paper is due this Monday)- a plethora of primary sources I need to write about Bonnie and Clyde seem to come from the DMN. I tried signing up for the free trial with Genealogy Bank but it required a credit card, which being a high school student, I don’t yet own. Is there any way I can get access to the DMN archives otherwise? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
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Hi, Lucy. The only other way I can think of is to try your local library — if it has access to NewsBank, you may be able to access it from your library, free. Just recently, we in Dallas have begun to be able to access newspaper archives *in addition to the DMN archive* via NewsBank from the Dallas Public Library. So it’s worth a shot to see if your local library has web access to NewsBank.
Also — this may not be at all possible, it’s just a shot in the dark, but you might give it a try — why not contact someone in the Dallas History department at the Dallas Public Library. Plead your case and perhaps they can give you a temporary password. As I said, this may be completely NOT doable, but what do you have to lose? You can call and/or email — they’re very helpful! Contact info is on this page: https://dallaslibrary2.org/dallashistory/
Good luck!
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I am trying to locate any information on Raymond A. Williams who died June 22, 2010, but I cannot find a Dallas newspaper that is that current. I tried using our library’s TexShare Database access, but it will not let me enter. I am also interested in Dallas newspapers of the early 1970’s. Do you have any suggestions. I do belong to Newspapers.com.
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Hi, Linda. I don’t see an obituary in the DMN. His name is a bit hard to search on in the archives as it’s fairly common and has a lot of possible permutations. I saw basic info on him at Ancestry.com (which, if you’re not already a member, you can try out for a free trial period). As far as Dallas newspapers of the 1970s, there is basically just The Dallas Morning News and Dallas Times Herald. The DTH can be researched on microfilm at the downtown Dallas Public Library — it is not digitized. Your best bet is probably contacting a librarian at the library. Good luck!
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Thank you very much for your response. I do have a membership to Ancestry, but so far, Raymond Archie Williams, 1941-2010 has been a difficult person to find information about, much less a photography. Seems he had a business in Dallas; Williams Forklift, but have not found much there. Thanks again.
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A good place for photos on Ancestry is the yearbook section. My computer is currently in the shop at the moment, but when I looked him up a couple of days ago I saw that he went to Crozier Tech, but I did not pursue it any further than that. Good luck!
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Question: I’m trying to find information on a person in the Dallas area in the 1940s with little info to go on. I have a first name and a potential last name. I was told her father owned or was editor of the Dallas newspaper in the 40s. She and her two infant children were killed in a car accident in the 40s as well etc. I’m not member of Newspapers or Ancestry but would join if you think this would be a good start.. Which one would be better.
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Hi, Kelly. There were at least 4 large newspapers in the Dallas area during the ’40s — none of these is accessible via Newspapers.com but you might have luck searching other Texas newspapers there — if the news involved a family member of a prominent publisher/editor, it would most likely be reported in area papers. I would suggest first trying the FREE Portal to Texas History database for this, though (Newspapers.com duplicates a lot of these papers): https://texashistory.unt.edu/search/
If you want to email me what info you have, I’ll do a quick search through the Dallas Morning News archive (my contact info is at the top of the page under the About/Contact tab).
Good luck!
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I’m not sure if this holds true for other suburbs in the Dallas area, but Richardson Public Library has the same service for their cardholders. 🙂
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Really? Well that’s good news. I thought it was strictly limited to the city of Dallas, but it looks like this might also be available around the county — or at least in Richardson. If anyone else knows of cities where access to the DMN database is available, please let me know. Thanks, Valerie!
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dallas morning news archive says “access to this resource is restricted to certain patrons. if you need assistance, contact the library.” (yes, I live in dallas)
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Hmm. I just tried and it worked for me. Is your library card current? If not, you may need to renew it. If you continue to have trouble, contact someone at the Dallas Public Library — when I’ve had problems in the past, I’ve found people there to be very helpful. Good luck!
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[…] “HOW TO ACCESS THE HISTORICAL DALLAS MORNING NEWS ARCHIVE” (July, 2015) In addition to its being the all-time most popular Flashback Dallas post, it was actually also the second most popular post of 2018. […]
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I would like to get a copy The Dallas Morning newspaper that had my picture on the front page. This was with an article about my finding a bullit with a metal detector near the grassy knoll where Kennedy was shot. Please let me know if you have this paper or know where I can obtain one.
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If you want an actual *physical* newspaper, you might check with the Dallas Morning News on the slim off-chance they might have that back issue — otherwise, the only place I can think of is someplace like eBay. If you’re just looking for a copy of a specific article, those can be readily accessed through the archives. If it was printed before 1985, the picture will be part of the scanned article.
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Great article! I am looking for a photo of my son in the sport section around 2000. I notice you speak of images and text prior to 1984 but not after. Does that mean there is no record or is there another option you may know of?
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For something that appeared around 2000, you might need to contact the DMN directly or check with the Dallas/Texas history department of the downtown Dallas Public Library. Good luck!
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[…] “HOW TO ACCESS THE HISTORICAL DALLAS MORNING NEWS ARCHIVE” (2015) […]
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Do you know if a photo archive exists for the DALLAS MORNING NEWS? I’m hoping to obtain a scan of a photo of a State Fair Musicals production, which appeared in the News on 10 July 1960. Any help at all would be appreciated. Thanks.
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Are you referring to the photo from rehearsals of “Redhead”? I think that photo might be hard to find in the hit-and-miss DMN photo archives. Many DMN photos are in the collection of the Dallas Public Library, some are at SMU, some are elsewhere, but most of the original photos just don’t exist anymore. If you have any other questions about this, please feel free to email me at FlashbackDallas214@gmail.com.
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My deceased Husband was in a car wreck December 10 or 11, 1970 in Dallas Texas where 7 people were killed how would i find information on that any help would be appreciated
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Send me an email with his name and the information you’re looking for to FlashbackDallas214@gmail.com.
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[…] “HOW TO ACCESS THE HISTORICAL DALLAS MORNING NEWS ARCHIVE” (2015) […]
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