tohpc009
"Road bridge," persons standing on ruins, 24 March 1913
tohpc016
"The Post Office, Traverse City", ca. 1915
tohpc001
"Mayfield electric power plant ruins", 24 March 1913
Digital Collections

Discover the stories, places, and people that shaped our region.

Explore photographs, documents, and community memory preserved by Traverse Area District Library. Browse archival collections, search across materials, and connect records back to the history of northern Michigan.

Browse Collections Move through collection guides and archival groupings. Advanced Search Search by title, creator, identifier, and more. Featured Galleries Start with curated highlights from the collection.
Local History Research

Explore the Collection in Research Paths

TADL’s Local History work spans digital collections, genealogy, archives, newspapers, and reference support. These paths pull the most useful starting points into one front-page guide.

Vintage photo of a family at the beach
Start Here

Browse the Digital Archive

Use this site as the primary entry point for photographs, records, and descriptive metadata from TADL’s Local History Collection.

Browse Collections
Black and white photo of a family on a porch Family History Start with genealogy and family-history research resources. Newspaper layout room in black and white Newspapers Find newspaper holdings and related local-history resources. Black and white photo of a house with a family outside House History Research the history of a house, property, or neighborhood.
Black and white photo of the Sixth Street Library card catalog area
In Person and Behind the Scenes

Archives

Learn how the archival collections work, where to begin with research requests, and how local-history materials are preserved and made accessible.

Learn About the Archives
Black and white photo of a library reading room Other Historical Research Explore related repositories and local-history tools. Black and white photo of people loading by a truck Donations Review donation information for local-history materials. Black and white photo of people working in a production space Volunteer See volunteer-related information for the collection.
Black and white photo of a man with a camera Additional Resources Follow related reading and support resources from TADL.
Black and white photo of archival shelves Reference and Research Help Connect archival access, local-history services, and staff guidance in one place.