The reference library of the Butler County Historical Society is located within the museum. Like the museum, the library is open 11am-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.  Open Sundays by appointment only.  Closed Mondays and holidays.  There is a $3.00 fee for research.  Each year the reference library is visited by researchers from all over the United States, as well as from nearby. Here both genealogical and historical researchers will find a unique collection of resources.

Collection Highlights:

Surname Index: One significant research tool is the surname index containing over 5,000 names.  This index helps point researchers to specific published sources in our library.

Directories: The library houses an extensive collection of both City and County Directories.  Included in the collection are: Hamilton city directories including the years 1858, 1861-1862, 1875, 1876, 1884, 1893, 1899, and 1900 to 2000.  Butler County directories can be found for 1883, 1920 and 1955.  Middletown city directories include 1891, 1917 to 1966 and 1988.

Reference Files:  Photograph and reference files detail a variety of topics from businesses, leading citizens, churches, schools and settlements to canals, forts, wars, and presidents.

John Woods Papers: A unique portion of  the collection is the court papers of John Woods.  These contain references to many early Hamiltonians (1799-1854).

School Memoribilia: For those researching more recent residents, the library has Annuals from Hamilton High School, Garfield High School, Roosevelt Junior High School, Wilson Junior High School, Harding Junior High School and Miami University. Also in the collection are a number of class photographs from various schools in Hamilton and the surrounding area.

Microfilm: Microfilm holdings include Butler County census records for the years 1860, 1880, 1900, 1910 and 1920.  Microfilmed newspapers include Venice Graphics,1887-1910; Butler County Press, 1900-1946; Deutsche-Amerikaner, all available issues; Edgewood This Week, 1981-1986; Hamilton True Telegraph, 1861-1870; Hamilton Herald, August 3, 1885 to 1887; Hamilton Daily Democrat, 1887-1888; Western Telegraph, 1841-1843.

Vital Records: The library has various vital record compilations including Butler County marriage records 1803-1847 and 1853-1858, Butler County birth records March 1856 to March 1857 and 1867-1872, and a collection of obituaries 1908-1930, and marriages, deaths and divorces which have been clipped from old newspapers and organized in binders.

Cemetery Listings: A master index to twelve volumes of Butler County cemetery records covers most graveyards in the county.

Area Histories: A collection of printed histories includes a number of volumes on Butler County, its early pioneers and settlements.  County histories for Montgomery, Hamilton, and Preble Counties of Ohio can also be found.

Maps:  Plat maps listing Butler County land owners include the years 1836, 1875, 1895, 1910, 1914, and 1930.

Military Compilations: Books containing information on soldiers include:  D.A.R. Patriot Index;Official Roster of Soldiers of the American Revolution Buried in Ohio;Roster of Ohio Soldiers, 1861-1866, War of the Rebellion;Official Roster of Ohio Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines, World War I, 1917-1918.

Business Collection: A recent project of the Society has been the completion of a searchable computer database of county businesses.  This database of approximately 1,000 businesses acts as a finding aid to various files, account books, ledgers, and advertising memoribilia which can be found in the library.  For each business in the database the following information was included when available:  business names (including ownership name changes), names of the businesses' directors, founders or proprieters, address, date of founding and closing, and references showing where further information can be found.  Items of particular interest which are mentioned in the database include company catalogues of the Estate Stove Company and Herring-Hall-Marvin Safe Works, over 400 advertising souvenirs from Hamilton businesses and a large number of photographs showing factories, storefronts, and employees.