LH toledo town

EXPLORE THE PAST

Research the history of Toledo and Lucas County using TLCPL’s Digital Collections. Select a collection to begin your search.

Materials in our collection tell stories of the people, places, and events that shaped our region. Browse our online exhibitions to learn more.

The Local History and Genealogy Department offers three online resources for researching houses and buildings in Northwest Ohio.

Buildings and Architecture Digital Collection Find photographs, blueprints, and architectural renderings.

Auditor’s Images Block Cards from the Lucas County Auditor’s Office are visual records of properties for tax assessment purposes. Find photographs for addresses in Lucas County taken between 1937-1965.

Architecture of Northwest Ohio Resource Guide Discover more about the history of architecture in Northwest Ohio and research your home.

The community photo album contains digitized photographs and digital still images contributed to the Library from the citizens of Toledo and Lucas County. Images are from 2018-2020 and serve as a visual reflection of a community at a moment in time.

View the Community Photo Album

The Local History and Genealogy Department (LHG) of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library (TLCPL) provides online access to its growing collection of local, historic records through TLCPL’s Digital Collections. Please be aware that while browsing the content in Digital Collections you may come across materials that reflect outdated or discriminatory viewpoints that may be difficult or harmful to view. LHG strives to provide a comprehensive collection of local history resources for the purposes of research and education but recognizes that sharing some parts of our region’s history can serve to perpetuate belief systems that fall outside of the Library’s values.
In order to respectfully and responsibly offer LHG materials through TLCPL’s Digital Collections, we are:
  • Continually learning and updating our best practices to ensure the Library’s materials are presented and described appropriately
  • Actively diversifying the content in Digital Collections to equitably represent the populations and perspectives of the Toledo Lucas County community
  • Providing a means for feedback if you encounter materials in Digital Collections that need review
For questions or concerns about sensitive content in TLCPL’s Digital Collections, please reach out to digitization@toledolibrary.org.