Genealogy Help

Local History

Our Local History Collection is primarily a self-service collection. Staff are able to assist you in finding catalogued materials. We do not have a local history specialist on staff at this time. 

If you are looking for an obituary, or news article please check out our Digitized Newspapers online. Our newspaper collection spans Allegan newspapers from 1856-current. If you are unable to find what you are looking for in our collection, you may wish to reach out to other libraries in Allegan County, the Van Buren District Library History Room, Then and Now in Dorr, the Western Michigan University Archives, or the Grand Valley State University Archives.

Please note: All of the materials in the Local History Collection are non-circulating.

Major categories of the ADL collection:

City/County; Telephone & Cross-Listings Directories
County & Local Histories
Newspapers
Yearbooks

Major Local History/Genealogy Sites we use at the Allegan District Library:
Ancestry Library Edition
Free in library use only; provided to you by an Allegan District Library subscription, Ancestry is a network of genealogical and historical records.

Ancestry Learning Center
Free in library use only; the experts at Ancestry have assembled a variety of tips and tricks to get you started with your research.