The Historical Detroit Free Press Provides Gateway to the Motor City's Past

ProQuest First to Offer Online Access to More than 90 Years of the Detroit
Free Press (1831-1922)

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- News from the Motor City -- from
before statehood to the American Civil War to the birth and growth of the
automotive industry -- is now available in ProQuest Historical Newspapers, the
definitive digital archive offering cover-to-cover, full-text, and full-image
articles for significant newspapers dating back to the 18th Century. The
Detroit Free Press (1831-1922) provides one of the deepest historical files
and comprehensive coverage of the social, political and economic development
of the Midwest, and offers new avenues into understanding the history of
Detroit and Michigan.

"Newspapers are the lifeblood of every community -- documenting our
milestones, our daily lives, and our unique regional perspective on global
events," said Rod Gauvin, senior vice president of publishing for ProQuest.
"We're proud to preserve and broaden access to historically significant
titles, like the Detroit Free Press, because they're vitally important to
helping researches connect with the diverse world around them."

The Detroit Free Press has been added to ProQuest Historical Newspapers
allowing users to follow the history of Detroit from a small frontier town
through its growth into one of the largest cities in the U.S. by the early
20th century. Founded six years before Michigan statehood, the Detroit Free
Press is recognized as the leading newspaper in the region. The newspaper rose
to prominence as Detroit became a major trading post and industrial hub. From
advocating statehood, to walking the beat along the waterfront, to producing
the first newspaper supplement for women, the Historical Detroit Free Press
(1831-1922) chronicles the history of Detroit.

Researchers will be able to study significant events as they appeared in
contemporary news accounts, such as daily coverage of the Great Lakes trade
industry, the early days of Ford and General Motors, as well as almost
forgotten car manufacturers such as Packard and Hudson. The Detroit Free
Press also recounts the founding of the Republican Party in Jackson, MI in
1854, and includes detailed coverage from the battlefield of the American
Civil War. As Detroit grew into a large city, renowned architects built
manufacturing facilities, skyscrapers and mansions. The newspaper follows the
works of Gordon Lloyd, Sheldon and Mortimer Smith, Albert Kahn, and Cass
Gilbert, as well as the construction of Detroit's Neo-Classical, Beaux Arts,
Art Deco, and Arts and Crafts buildings and homes.

The Detroit Free Press is also a rich source of genealogical and local history
information. The growth of the mining, timber and auto industries attracted
migrants from across Europe and the American South. Before the American Civil
War, Detroit also played a crucial role in the Underground Railroad serving as
the last stop in the journey to freedom in Canada. Additionally, in the early
1900's the evolution of the automotive industry drew many people to Detroit to
work on the auto assembly line. Within the pages of the Detroit Free Press
genealogists can find local news stories, ads from family business, accounts
of city, county and state government meetings, in addition to obituaries,
marriage and birth announcements -- all which tell the story of Michigan's
rich history.

The archives of the Detroit Free Press are cross-searchable with ProQuest
Historical Newspapers, the world's largest digital newspaper archive,
encompassing more than 25 million pages dating from 1764. A core research
holding in major libraries around the world, it includes such formidable
newspapers as The Guardian, The Observer, The Scotsman, The Irish Times, The
New York Times, New York Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, The Christian
Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune,
Washington Post, Atlanta Constitution, Boston Globe, Hartford Courant, The
Chicago Defender, New York Amsterdam News, Pittsburgh Courier, Los Angeles
Sentinel, Atlanta Daily World, The Baltimore Afro-American, Cleveland Call &
Post, The Norfolk Journal & Guide, The Philadelphia Tribune, St. Louis
Post-Dispatch and The Baltimore Sun.

About ProQuest
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More than a content provider or aggregator, ProQuest is an information
partner, creating indispensable research solutions that connect people and
information. Through innovative, user-centered discovery technology, ProQuest
offers billions of pages of global content that includes historical
newspapers, dissertations, and uniquely relevant resources for researchers of
any age and sophistication--including content not likely to be digitized by
others. Inspired by its customers and their end users, ProQuest is working
toward a future that blends information accessibility with community to
further enhance learning and encourage lifelong enrichment.

For more information, visit www.proquest.com or the ProQuest parent company
website, www.cambridgeinformationgroup.com.

SOURCE ProQuest

North America, Tina Taylor, Publicist, of ProQuest, +1-734-272-7224,
tina.taylor@proquest.com