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Located on the second floor of the Santori Public Library in downtown Aurora
The Community History Center houses materials related to the history of Aurora, Illinois as well as genealogy reference books. The purpose of the Community History Collection is to preserve materials that document the history of Aurora and to make these materials available for research. The library holds these materials in trust for future generations, and therefore they can be examined in the local history room only.
DOWNLOAD OUR GENEOLOGY AND Community HISTORY BROCHUREA great reason to visit the library! We have frequent programs and bimonthly community history displays that you can visit in person.
Casimir Arcouet (1834 - 1902)
Casimir Arcouet was a photographer, painter, and sculpter who spent the last 30 years of his life living and working in Aurora. View the display and then attend the program Aurora's Artistic Roots: The Life of Casimir Arcouet on Saturday, May 17 presented by Arcouet's descendants.
Second Mondays at Santori Library: 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Second Wednesdays at West Branch: 1-3 p.m.
The library's Community History Center contains hundreds of subject files related to the history of Aurora and the surrounding area. They are mostly comprised of newspaper clippings from 1851 through the present day. This resource compliments our expansive historic newspaper collection on microfilm (1848 - today). While the microfilm collection is organized by date, the subject files are organized by topic, including Aurora businesses, arts, organizations, people, and general history. Since microfilm research requires a specific date or narrow date range to be useful, the subject files are helpful when your research timeframe is extensive or undetermined. Please consult this finding aid for a brief overview of each series, folder listings, and suggestions for related materials.
We offer video programs you can view on YouTube with just a click:
Randy Shilts: Aurora's Trailblazing Gay Journalist
Olivia & the Eola Boxcar Camp: An Immigrant’s Journey
Abolitionism & the Underground Railroad in Aurora
African Americans in Aurora: 1921-1955 Baker Broderick All the World's a Stage The Cemeteries of Aurora Part I The Cemeteries of Aurora Part II The Cemeteries of Aurora Part III City in Crisis: Aurora and the Spanish Influenza 1918 City in Crisis: Aurora and the Spanish Influenza Second Wave George Grant Elmslie and The Crucible of Creation History of the Aurora Public Library Introduction to Online LGBTQ+ Archives The Language of Tombstones 
Archival Collections– The Community History Collection contains primary source materials on a variety of topics. Find folder listings here (). Additionally, the Wilkinson Family Collection includes photographs, documents, and personal items from Aurora icon and social/civil rights activist, Marie Wilkinson, her husband Charles, and their children, Sheila and Donald.
Aurora Historic Photographs – The images in this collection depict Aurora, IL and the surrounding area from the 1870s through the 2020s. The collection contains photographs and postcards that cover a variety of subjects, including public libraries, Aurora downtown, historic buildings, and portrait photography. Available through Illinois Digital Archives.
City Directories – Our collection runs from 1858/1859 to the present, and while gaps exist, we believe no City Directories were done for those missing years. These volumes function somewhat like a telephone book. Each book contains an alphabetical listing of Aurora residents in the pertinent year. Spouses and occupations are included in many of the early books. From the 1895/1896 edition onward, there is a section in the back of each directory that allows you to look up particular addresses by street to see who occupied the premises at that time. The 1929 edition contains the address conversion index, which lists old and new house numbers.
Historic Maps of Aurora – This digital collection of historic maps shows the physical changes and growth of Aurora over several decades. They also illustrate changes in ward boundaries, street names, and, in some cases, building and business locations. Available through Illinois Digital Archives.
Miscellaneous Collections – The Emma & Robert Wegman Community History Center houses select collections of a variety of books of local interest, archival items, newspaper clippings, photographs, audio/video materials, a local author collection, atlases and plat books, and other microfilmed materials.
Newspapers on Microfilm – The library's collection of microfilm contains reels from a wide variety of Aurora newspapers published through the years: Aurora Beacon News, Aurora Blade, Aurora Chronicle, Aurora Daily Democrat, Aurora Daily Journal, Aurora Daily News, Aurora Daily Times, Aurora Economist, Aurora Fox Valley Beacon, Aurora Guardian, Aurora Herald Weekly, Aurora Labor Journal, Aurora News Semi-Weekly, Aurora News Times, Aurora Post Journal, Aurora Semi-Weekly Express, Aurora Sentinel, Aurora Sun, Aurora Sunday Journal, Aurora Volksfreund (major condition issues), Aurora Weekly Express, Aurora Weekly Herald, Dubuque Luxemburger Gazette
Yearbooks – This collection includes yearbooks from various Aurora area colleges, high schools, and junior high schools. The selection of volumes for East Aurora High School, Waubonsie Valley High School, and West Aurora High School are fairly complete. Gaps in coverage exist for many of the other institutions.
• Aurora Central Catholic High School, 1969 – 2021
• Aurora Christian School, 1978 – 1994
• Aurora College, 1913 – 1980
• East Aurora High School, 1913 – 2015
• Illinois Math and Science Academy, 1990 – 1994
• Jennings Seminary, 1909
• Madonna High School, 1933; 1962 – 1963; 1966; 1968
• Marmion Military Academy, 1937 – 2016
• Mooseheart High School, 1923
• Nequa Valley High School, 1998 - 2001
• Roncali High School, 1966 – 1968
• Rosary High School, 1967 – 2016
• Waubonsie Valley High School, 1979 – 2021
• West Aurora High School, 1911 – 2010
