City directories are one of the Indiana Room’s most frequently used resources. They contain information on residences and businesses within the city limits for the given year. This can be a great way to find out when a business operated here. It can also be used as an alternative to a census. Our earliest city directory is from 1845 and our most recent is from 2017. The 2018 city directory is available at the Upper Customer Service desk upon request. These resources do not check out, so that they can always be available for use. However, we do have digital copies available on the website for 1845 to 1920!
To access these digital copies, please visit the Indiana Room’s City Directories page. Click on the link for the desired year. This will redirect you to Internet Archive, where the images are hosted. Once the image is displayed, click the expand arrows in the upper right corner.
This will make allow you to do a variety of things with the city directory.
- Click PDF/ePub to download a copy of the city directory to your computer.
- Use the plus and minus magnifying glasses to adjust the size of the pages.
- Use the search box to look for specific names or words within the book.
- Use the slider bar to skip ahead or move backward.
- Use the back and forward arrows to move page by page.
If you only want save or print one page, simply right-click the page and select either save image or print from the menu. Happy hunting!
