The Elgin County Archives has completed the digitization of early Elgin County newspapers!

In partnership with the Elgin County branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, the Elgin County Archives has scanned and digitized microfilm newspaper issues.  These newspapers represent a key resource for information on the unique documentary history of Elgin County. 

These historical newspapers are:

• Aylmer Enterprise (1869-1870)
• Aylmer Express (1881-1948)
• Aylmer Saturday Night (1914)
• Aylmer Sun (1890-1914)
• East Elgin Tribune (1915-1916)
• Dutton Enterprise (1881-1889)
• Dutton Advance (1889-1949)
• Rodney Chronicle (1885)
• Rodney Mercury (1887-1918)
• Weekly Dispatch (1853-1876)
• The Home Journal/Canadian Home Journal (1859-1877)
• West Lorne Sun (1902-1918)

These newspapers are focused on specific areas within Elgin County and contain information about popular events, advertisements, obituaries and much more, dating as far back as 1853. 

Individual newspapers can be searched by entering the name of the newspaper and the year you are looking for or you can use the advanced search option, entering the name of the newspaper and then sorting by electronic records.  You can also visit our database to see the entire collection: https://inmagic.elgin.ca/ask/. Newspapers are available in yearly segments or in individual issues.

Examples of specific search types are outlined here: Search Examples

Search Tips:

• Use quotation marks around the name of the newspaper you are looking for
• Many of the newspaper names change over time, so your search results may actually be from the same paper
• Some of the newspapers only have a couple issues for a certain year or skip a year, so in these instances it works best to search using the Advanced Search example; entering the name of the newspaper and then restricting your search by looking for electronic records

You can also double check with the Elgin County Archives to make sure the newspaper that you are looking for is available electronically by emailing us at the bottom of our archives page (https://www.elgincounty.ca/archives/) or calling us at 519-631-1460, Ext. 154, Monday to Friday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Please feel free to contact us if you would like further assistance.