The Jefferson County Historical Society is establishing a Research Room and Library in the Society’s offices in Happy Retreat. The collection includes bound editions of local and area newspapers as well as donations of hard to find, mmany out of print, books, genealogies, magazines, and county maps. The library’s holdings include the Society’s own annual Magazine (1935 to the present) and its quarterly newsletters.

The Research Room is equipped with a dedicated computer and printer/scanner as well as subscriptions to several popular research libraries including:

• Fold3 (military records)
• Ancestry.com
• Newspapers.com
• GenealogyBank.com

Besides these subscriptions, other research websites are bookmarked to aid in specialized searches, including state and local historical websites.

The Society will be developing a policy detailing its research services to members of the Society and others who may not have an opportunity to visit and use the Research Room and Library. In the future, the Society hopes to provide research volunteers with specialized historical and genealogical knowledge to assist in using the resources of the Society.

The Historical Society is working with the Friends of Happy Retreat to establish internet connectivity for the building in order to make these services fully available.