The past is now online

COEUR d'ALENE - In May 1907, Coeur d'Alene Mayor H.V. Scallon - the city's first - addressed the first regular meeting of the new city council.

"A quarter of a century ago, there was no real settlement on the site where today our beautiful and promising city stands," Scallon told the council. "A quarter of a century in the future will see a magnificent city here."

The Press printed Scallon's speech in the paper's May 7, 1907, edition. The headline read: "Message of Mayor Scallon: Delivered to Council on Assuming Duties of His Office."

Now, anyone with a computer can go back and read similar historic editions of The Press.

Thousands of pages of The Press, published between 1892 and 1910, have been digitized and posted to the Library of Congress' Chronicling America website. The access is free and the newspapers are keyword-searchable.

In 2013, the Idaho State Historical Society was awarded $277,000 by the National Endowment for the Humanities to begin digitizing 100,000 pages of Idaho newspapers printed between 1864 and 1922.

Steve Barrett, a reference archivist for the historical society, said exactly 9,150 pages of the Coeur d'Alene Press and the Coeur d'Alene Evening Press have been posted to Chronicling America.

Along with The Press, 22 other Idaho newspapers printed before 1923 will be digitized and posted to the website. The papers will be from throughout the state.

Barrett said the newspapers chosen for the project contain 50 percent or more local and state content, versus national news and other filler.

The Coeur d'Alene Press "rated highly in state and local" content, Barrett said Wednesday. "The newspaper was doing really good at reporting on local events."

The digitized newspapers are selected by a committee comprised of teachers and history professors, special collections librarians, historical society trustees, an archivist and members of the general public.

"We feel privileged to have been chosen for this project and more importantly, we're thrilled this service is available to anyone who wants to dive into the region's past," said Mike Patrick, Press editor.

"The history of Idaho is a rich drama of rugged mountain men and Native Americans, pioneer settlers and miners, gold and silver, lawmen and outlaws, rivers and trails, steamboats and railroads, missionaries and farmers - all part of the fabric of a young nation seeking its role on the world stage," said Syd Albright, a writer and biographer living in Post Falls who often writes about history for The Press.

The pages of The Press from 1892 through 1910 provide a valuable account of North Idaho's history of mining, Barrett said.

The state historical society created the digital images of the newspaper pages using more than 30-year-old microfilm, which remains in pristine condition, he said. The society produced the microfilm in the 1980s.

Because the newspaper pages on Chronicling America are keyword-searchable it will improve historical research and writing, he said, as people will be able to find more of what they're looking for.

"You're just going to know more than you did 30 years ago," Barrett said.