Genealogy/Local History

Local & State History

Almost anything concerning North Carolina and Cumberland County, past or present, can be found in the Local & State History Department. The department’s two collections, North Carolina Reference and Genealogy Reference, consist of:

• Yearbooks
• Maps
• Pamphlets
• Newspapers
• City directories
• Census records
• Indexes of vital records
• Photographs

Digital Preservation Lab

Digitize your media by converting and transferring VHS tapes, vinyl records, cassette tapes, photographs, photo negatives and slides into digital media using the new Digital Preservation Lab located in the Local & State History Room at Headquarters Library.

The equipment is available by appointment or available on first-come first-served basis. Customers must sign a user agreement and receive training from staff prior to using the equipment for the first time.

There is no fee to use the equipment. Customers must provide their own storage device (flash drive, external hard drive, blank CD, etc.). The library does not provide personal storage devices.

For details, contact the Local & State History Room at (910) 483-7727, ext. 1365.

Our Location

2nd floor, Headquarters Library
300 Maiden Lane
Fayetteville, NC 28301-5000

(910) 483-7727, ext. 1365

Guide to Genealogy and Local History Research

Find everything you need to get started with Genealogy and Local History Research: “how-to” guides, links to collections and indexes in the Local & State History Room, online resources available to you, they’re all here.

Click here to get started.

Submitting a Question

We will also attempt to answer any question of a historical nature regarding Fayetteville, Cumberland County, or North Carolina. Additionally, we can retrieve information from any of the books or microfilm in our collection; however, we cannot provide extensive family history research. The more specific your question, the better chance we have of finding the answer (for example, a specific marriage record or death certificate).

Please note: a date of death is required for obituaries. The newspaper collection is not indexed and cannot be searched by name only. We may be able to assist you in finding a date of death if you are unable to locate one.

For researchers outside of Cumberland County, we do not charge for lookups and will send up to five copies for free. Each additional copy is 15 cents plus postage.