Researching historic images helps reveal how places and communities have changed over time. Online archives, libraries, and historical societies provide access to photos and visual records that show past buildings, streets, and everyday life.

Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection

The Calvin M. McClung Digital Collection is an online archive managed by the Knox County Public Library that provides free access to historic photographs, manuscripts, postcards, maps, and other primary sources related mainly to Knoxville and East Tennessee. It is part of the larger Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection and allows users to search and view digitized materials that document the region’s history, people, and places.

The Tennessee Virtual Archives (TeVA)

The Tennessee Virtual Archive is a digital repository of the Tennessee State Library & Archives providing open access to thousands of photographs, documents, maps, postcards, film, audio and other records relating to the history and culture of Tennessee.

Digital Collections, University of Tennessee Libraries

The digital archive of the University of Tennessee Libraries includes East Tennessee historical photographs, cartoons, sheet music, and texts.

The Historic American Building Survey (HABS)/Historic American Engineering Record (HAER)/Historic American Landscape Survey (HALS)

The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) collections are among the largest and most heavily used in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. Since 2000, documentation from the Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) has been added to the holdings. The collections document achievements in architecture, engineering, and landscape design in the United States and its territories through a comprehensive range of building types, engineering technologies, and landscapes.