Thanks to our beloved and dearly missed Fultonian Nancy Kolk, you may access, read, and search through a PDF index of Fulton newspapers dating as far back as 1854. We are indebted to her effort of manually transferring this valuable community asset from microfilm to digital data which will allow for quicker research.
In 2017, Harvey Geerts took up the mantle, continuing the important work of indexing unfinished and recent issues of the Journal. We are very grateful for his time and effort.
Remember, this is just an index, or outline; the papers are available for viewing in full at the library using our microfilm viewer.
The following links present a Word file first, followed by a PDF.
ful_papers_reel1-9(1854-1900+) or ful_papers_reel1-9(1854-1900+)– Includes the Whiteside Investigator, Fulton City Advertiser, Fulton Weekly Courier, Fulton Weekly Journal, The Fulton Weekly Journal, Fulton Register (1892 – 1899), Fulton Journal with dates ranging from March 15, 1854 to July 31, 1900.
ful_papers_reels10-19(1900-1926) or ful_papers_reels10-19(1900-1926) – Fulton Journal ranging from Aug. 3, 1900 to Nov. 5, 1926 and also Dec. 13 of 1932, and June 18 and Jan. 29 of 1937.
ful_papers_reels20-32(1926-1955) or ful_papers_reels20-32(1926-1955)
Reel #33 Dec. 22, 1955 – Sept. 19, 1957 or Reel #33 Dec. 22, 1955 – Sept. 19, 1957
Reel #34 September 26, 1957-Sept. 3, 1959 or Reel #34 September 26, 1957-Sept. 3, 1959
Reel # 35 Sept. 10, 1959-March 15, 1961 or Reel # 35 Sept. 10, 1959-March 15, 1961.doc
Reel # 36 March 22, 1961-Dec. 26, 1962 or Reel # 36 March 22, 1961-Dec. 26, 1962
Reel # 37 January 2, 1963-Dec. 23, 1964 or Reel # 37 January 2, 1963-Dec. 23, 1964
Reel # 38 Jan. 6, 1965-Dec. 28, 1966 or Reel # 38 Jan. 6, 1965-Dec. 28, 1966
Reel # 39 January 4, 1967-December 25, 1968 or Reel # 39 January 4, 1967-December 25, 1968
Reel # 40 January 1, 1969-December 30, 1970 or Reel # 40 January 1, 1969-December 30, 1970
Reel _ 41 January 6, 1971-December 27, 1972 or Reel _ 41 January 6, 1971-December 27, 1972
Reel _ 42 January 3, 1973-December 26, 1973 or Reel _ 42 January 3, 1973-December 26, 1973
Reel _ 43 January 2, 1974-December 25, 1974 or Reel _ 43 January 2, 1974-December 25, 1974
Reel _ 44 January 1, 1975-December 29, 1976 or Reel _ 44 January 1, 1975-December 29, 1976
Reel _ 45 January 5, 1977-December 28, 1977 or Reel _ 45 January 5, 1977-December 28, 1977
Reel _ 46 January 4, 1978 – December 27, 1978 or Reel _ 46 January 4, 1978 – December 27, 1978
Reel _ 47 January 3, 1979-December 26, 1979 or Reel _ 47 January 3, 1979-December 26, 1979
Reel #48 January 2, 1980-December 31, 1980 or Reel #48 January 2, 1980-December 31, 1980
Reel # 49 1981 January 7-December 30 or Reel # 49 1981 January 7-December 30
Reel # 50 1982 or Reel # 50 1982
Reel # 51 Jan. 5, 1983-Dec. 28, 1983 or Reel # 51 Jan. 5, 1983-Dec. 28, 1983
Reel # 52 1984 or Reel # 52 1984
Reel # 53 1985 or Reel # 53 1985
Reel # 54 1986 or Reel # 54 1986
Reel # 55 1987 January 7-December 30 or Reel # 55 1987 January 7-December 30
Reel # 56 1988 or Reel # 56 1988
Reel # 57 1989 January 4-December 27 or Reel # 57 1989 January 4-December 27
from the work of Harvey Geerts:
ful_papers_reels58-67(1990-1999) or ful_papers_reels58-67(1990-1999)
ful_papers_reels68-78(2000-2009) or ful_papers_reels68-78(2000-2009)
ful_papers_reels79 & on(2010 -Mar. 15, 2017) or ful_papers_reels79 (2010 -Mar. 15, 2017)
This is the extent of the work done at this time. We will update this list as the indices become available. All issues after the most recent date listed are still available in their physical form (they just haven’t been indexed) . Microfilm issues are acquired from the Illinois State Library when they have been microfilmed and made available for purchase.
And if you are wondering, “What’s up with this Microfilm stuff? Isn’t that a little outdated given today’s technology?”; then please consider this argument from the National Archives:
“Microfilm is a low-cost, reliable, long-term, standardized image storage medium. The equipment needed to view microfilm images is simple, consisting of light and magnification. The medium has a life-expectancy of hundreds of years.
Digital images, on the other hand, consist of a wide variety of machine codes that require computer hardware and software to be made visible. To avoid the obsolescence of changing computer technology, digital images must be reformatted periodically.
The cost of maintaining microfilm is small compared with that of digital images. Microfilm only needs shelving in a cool, dry place for a very long period of time.”
– from http://www.archives.gov/preservation/formats/microfilming.html