History Unbound: Cayuga County

Photos taken from airplanes around Central New York.

Papers of Dr. Albert Leffingwell, including diaries, letters, and manuscripts from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Collection of photographs documenting a parade in Auburn, NY, to celebrate the end of WWII in 1945.

Photographs taken by the county historian's office in the 1970s of Urban Renewal demolitions.

This collection contains photographs of a parade held during Auburn’s Old Home Week celebration in June 1906.

Drone photography covering the Village of Aurora with Wells College, the Village of Moravia, the Village of Union Springs, the City of Auburn, as well as neighborhoods and farmlands of Genoa.

Photographs of the city of Auburn NY, featuring downtown businesses, residences, city buildings, banking institutions, and hotels.

Collection of photographs related to the Case Research Laboratory in Auburn, NY, where the first commercially successful sound-on-film system was developed by Theodore Case.

Photographs of various religious institutions in Cayuga County.

Photographs from the general file in Cayuga County.

Postcards showing the towns and villages of Cayuga County.

Photographs of tobacco farmers living in Cayuga County.

Photographs and ephemera from the Columbian Rope Company of Auburn.

Diaries of Helen Alexander, who lived in rural Cayuga County from 1838 to 1923.

Directories of the city of Auburn, New York, in Cayuga County.

Items from the papers of historian Elsie Gutchess, including primary and secondary materials relating to the history of women in the United States.

Items from the personal papers and library of abolitionist, suffragist, and peace activist Emily Howland, including her collection of political pamphlets, posters, and program documents.

Fifteen color slides of the flooding caused by Hurricane Agnes in June of 1972 as the Owasco River in Auburn crested.

Collection of portraits, articles, memorabilia, and papers of Frances Folsom Cleveland Preston, with emphasis on her time at Wells College, in the White House, and her time in Aurora, NY as a Wells College trustee and wife of Thomas Preston.

Materials relating to NYS Assemblyman George M. Michaels, who represented Cayuga County. He's best known for his pivotal vote for the passage of abortion rights in New York State.

Collection of materials from the Howland Stone Store Museum in Sherwood, N.Y. related to woman suffrage and local history, including woman suffrage posters and publications.

Photographs of houses and commercial buildings in Auburn, NY, used for HistoryForge.

Images of Sennett, New York, in Cayuga County.

Images of Springport, New York, in Cayuga County.

Correspondence of Isabel Howland's and ephemera from the Howland Store Stone Museum's collection.

Historical materials from the town of Brutus in Cayuga County.

Photographs and ephemera relating to the Osborne and Metcalf families of Auburn, New York.

Stereographs from around New York State, especially of Watkins Glen, Havana Glen (now Montour Falls), and the gorges and waterfalls around Ithaca.

Collection of photographs documenting damage to the city of Auburn, NY, from a storm in 1946.

19th Century ledgers and account books from the Town of Mentz.

Historical photographs, manuscripts and postcards from the Town of Montezuma.

The collection contains information surrounding exhibitions of his work, photographs of Hammer, and information on and works from the Anvil Press. Tangential materials included in the collection are the products of the Wells College Press, which uses Hammer's Press, and information about the Wells College Books Arts Center.

Oral histories documenting African-American, LGBTQ+, and other underrepresented communities in Cayuga County.

Scrapbooks created by Wells College students around the turn of the 20th century.

Annual yearbooks from Wells College in Aurora.

Petitions signed by men and women in various towns of New York State in support of women's suffrage.

Photographs of women from the general file of women in Cayuga County.

Bill Hect has photographed and scanned thousands of photos and maps from repositories around Central New York. Descriptions are limited; he does sometimes tag photos so you can try looking up by location name.

A comprehensive index of resources that could help genealogists, including an exhaustive list of all historical maps.

Titles range from 1798 to 1931. Titles from Cayuga County include:
The Advertiser-Journal (1913-1931)
Auburn Daily Advertiser (1913)
Auburn Free Press (1830-1833)
Auburn Journal and Advertiser (1837-1846)
Auburn Morning Dispatch (1888)
Auburn Weekly American (1855-1958)
Auburn Weekly Dispatch (1888)
The Aurora Gazette (1807)
The Corrector (1839)
Free Press (1824-1826)
Levana Gazette / Onondaga Advertiser (1798)
Spiritual Clarion (1857-1859)
Voice Of The People (1838-1839)
The Western Federalist (1809-1815)

Titles range from 1913 to 2021 and include:
The Citizen
Advertiser Journal
Seneca Citizen
The Port Byron Chronicle and Cayuga County News
The Auburn Citizen

This is a challenging website to search but includes many local newspapers. Search from the home page or create an account and jump into the "Browse my Archives" section. The first icon is for historical newspapers, and then you can navigate to the title you're interested in.
Cayuga titles include:
Auburn NY Free Press
Auburn NY Argus
Auburn NY (Daily) Bulletin
Auburn NY Cayuga Chief
Auburn NY Cayuga County Independent
Auburn NY Cayuga County News
Auburn NY Cayuga County Patriot
Auburn NY Cayuga Patriot 1826 - 1828
Auburn NY Cayuga Republican
Auburn NY Christian Advocate
Auburn NY Christian Ambassador
Auburn NY Citizen
Auburn NY Citizen Advertiser
Auburn NY Daily Advertiser
Auburn NY Daily American
Auburn NY Daily Democrat
Auburn NY Daily Union
Auburn NY Democrat - Argus
Auburn NY Evening Auburnian
Auburn NY Journal
Auburn NY Journal And Advertiser
Auburn NY Morning Dispatch
Auburn NY Morning News
Auburn NY News And Bulletin
Auburn NY Semi-Weekly Journal
Auburn NY Weekly Auburnian
Auburn NY Weekly Bulletin
Auburn NY Weekly Democrat
Auburn NY Weekly Journal
Auburn NY Weekly News And Democrat
Auburn NY Western Federalist
Cato NY Citizen 1893 - 1966
Cayuga County Newspapers Misc.pdf
Fair Haven NY Register
Genoa NY Trubune
Genoia NY Tribune
kings Ferry NY Southern Cayuga Tribune
Lock NY Courier
Moravia NY Republican Register
Moravia NY Valley Register
Port Byron NY Chronicle
Union Springs NY Advertiser
Union Springs NY News
Weedsport Cayuga Chief Port Byron Chronical
Weedsport NY Cayuga Chief

Directories of the city of Auburn, New York, in Cayuga County.

reports of overseer of the poor; local photos

local photos & slides

local photos

dairymen's records; local photos

Seward family materials

local photos; prison records & prison riot materials

Earl Conrad papers (Jewish author, biographer of Tubman and lynchings); George Metcalf papers on Black activism & civil rights

Emily Howland (activist) collection; publicity film from 1942