Orange county observer
Hillsborough newspaper published by Joseph A. Harris, with issues from 1880 to 1917, 1,148 in all. Founded in 1878, the Observer billed itself as the oldest paper in Orange County and for years the only one.
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Indexed works
Books, articles, records and pictures in the index about Orange County Observer, found by its names in titles, catalog subjects and the index’s descriptions, and read one by one. Those held at OCPL come first.
About the site
Orange County Observer (Hillsborough, N.C.)
The Orange County Observer, a Hillsborough newspaper, beginning in 1880, together with The Southern Mail. Part of the North Carolina Newspapers collection.
Found a book OCPL doesn’t own? You can often borrow it through interlibrary loan at OCPL.
In the chronology
- The Orange County Observer begins publication at Hillsborough Joseph A. Harris started the Orange County Observer at Hillsborough in 1878 as editor and owner. The paper ran until about 1917.
Research sources
Ask locally 4
Local organizations that preserve the story and can help you go further
- Rebecca B. Wall Local History Collection, Orange County Public Library The county library’s local-history room at the Main Library in Hillsborough: books, journals, maps, and microfilm of county records from 1752
- Local History Help Hours and request form The library’s Local History Liaison helps in person most Mondays, 12 to 3, at the Main Library, or by the online request form
- Alliance for Historic Hillsborough Hillsborough sites, tours, and interpretation
- Orange County Historical Museum Orange County history, objects, and interpretation
Additional research sources
Other sources to search and local organizations that can help.
- Read contemporary evidence: Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 127 cited by an event here
- Search beyond the index: NC LIVE: prepared search for Orange County Observer NC LIVE Articles, e-books and newspapers across the state’s shared databases, already scoped to this site’s names and the county; sign in through your North Carolina library to read
