Middletown Thrall Library makes local history material accessible online through our Digital History Initiative, an ongoing endeavor to provide local history information to local and global communities of Internet users who have an interest in our area. Original copies of Digital History documents listed below are maintained in the Local History Room at the library.

The first digitized text in this initiative was Peter A. Laskaris' Middletown, A Photographic History. Mr. Laskaris granted Middletown Thrall Library the right to reproduce this rare work so that any person with Internet access could explore the rich history of Middletown, New York.

If you do not have Internet access, you may access this text in print at the library or view it using our public Internet terminals or Local History/Genealogy research workstation. For more information, please call the Local History Department at 341-5483. You can also click here to ask a librarian a question and receive replies by e-mail.

• Historic Post Cards - These historic post cards represent architectural structures central to Middletown's rich heritage and illustrate, without words, the evolution of a small town from a quaint development to cultural epicenter. Click here to view the post cards. Note: The original souvenir post cards are viewable in the library's Local History department.
  
  
• Images of Local History: An Online Photographic Exhibit Showcasing Images from the Historical Society of Middletown and the Wallkill Precinct, Inc. These images highlight various aspects of Middletown's rich past and other key areas in and around the City of Middletown. This digital exhibit contains a number of photographs of schools, buildings, businesses, places of worship, streets, trains, train stations, celebrations, portraits, class pictures, and modes of transportation. Click here to view the Images of Local History exhibit.
  
  
• The Middletown Directory: 1857 - 1858
  From the Introduction:
  This volume is published with a view of supplying a work of ready reference in all matters of general interest relating to the village of Middletown, as well as to afford the business portion of its citizens a medium for advertising their respective occupations and wares.

  This work contains a number illustrations and historical references specific to the Middletown, NY community at the time. Click here to read The Middletown Directory

  
  
• "Middletown Firsts" - A chronological history to the many "first things," people and places that came to be in Middletown. To access this work, please click here to read Middletown Firsts.
  
  
• "Middletown: A Retrospect of the Years" is an illustrated introduction to the history of Middletown, New York. This work is accessible through our website for the benefit of local students and teachers, patrons, and our Internet visitors. Please click here to begin reading Middletown: A Retrospect of the Years
  
  
• "Middletown Thrall Library, 1901-1996: A Historical Study of a Small City Public Library" offers rare insight into one of Middletown's most important social, cultural and educational institutions: the library. This comprehensive work covers nearly a century of the library's evolution, from its beginnings to the new Thrall Library on Depot Street. Click here to begin reading the history of Middletown Thrall Library.
  
  
• Orange County Agricultural Society 70th Annual Exhibition
  An Orange County Fair Premium Book was issued each year to list rules and regulations for the exhibitions, including livestock, food, flowers, sewing, etc. It also included advertisements for local businesses. We have included an example of an Orange County Fair Premium Book from 1910.
  Click here to view the Orange County Fair Premium Book
  
  
• New: Search Our Images! Use our image search engine to locate digitized local history photographs from several of our online collections.