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Search 1,000s of photos, newspaper articles, books, and other historical resources in the Costa Mesa Historical Society collections for your next research project.
More Than 27,000 Photographs of Costa Mesa people and places
- Schools, Government, Commerce, Agriculture, Residential
- Santa Ana Army Air Base (SAAAB)
1,000+ Library Books on Costa Mesa and surrounding areas
- Most books are out of print
Local Periodicals and Newspapers
| Costa Mesa Herald | 1924-1936 |
| Costa Mesa Globe | 1935-1936 |
| Costa Mesa Globe-Herald | 1936-1961 |
| Daily Pilot | 1985, 1988, 1993-2002, 2011- present |
| Costa Mesa News | 1978-1987 |
| Costa Mesa Independent | 1987-1995 |
| Balboa Beacon | 2011-2013 |
| Anaheim Gazette | 1885-1890 |
| Fairview Register | 1889 |
| Newport Ensign | 1970-1988 |
| Newport Balboa Press | 1940-1945 |
| Costa Mesa sections of OC Register | 1983-1990 |
| The Current | 2012-present |
Articles by Subjects and Directories
- Phone Books, City Directories, Journals and Magazines
- Subject News Clipping Files
Hundreds of Maps
- Costa Mesa – Newport area, Orange County and Southern California
- 1900 to Present
Audio & Video Recordings and Movies Films
- Oral Histories
- Local and Regional History
- World War II
Major Collections
- Early Costa Mesa Collection – Rural/Agricultural Period, 1900-1950
- Nell Murbarger Collection – Personal and travel writings; research notes for Ghost Towns of the Southwest, local memorabilia
- Mildred Fisher Collection – Costa Mesa Schools 1928-1965
- SAAAB Collection – Training Base 1942-1946
- Dodge Family Collection – Early Costa Mesa
- Ed Miller Collection – Research notes for “A Slice of Orange”, “Hayburners of Orange County”, and “SAAAB Story”
- Lions Club Collection – Papers and memorabilia, 1928-present
Diego Sepulveda Adobe Historical Site
- Mission/Rancho/Farming Period, 1820-1920
- Native American & Archaeological Artifacts
- Period Furnishings and Personal Effects