Few people may have heard of Buxton, and New Mills in particular - but for those genealogical researchers who are looking to find that last piece of information (is there ever a last piece of information for the genealogical researcher?) on a member of their family - archives such as these are a godsend.

The more we can find access to small archives like these, the more gaps we can fill in our personal family histories.

Town's history to get brighter future on web - Buxton Today

Over 5,500 pictures from the archives of New Mills Local History Society and New Mills Heritage Centre have been digitised, and can be viewed by the public on computers in New Mills Library and the Heritage Centre.

The high resolution images, which date back to the 1880s, cover a wide variety of subjects including individuals, buildings and streets, groups of people, family groups, outdoor activities, school classes, transport and industry, and wartime.

If you are looking for context and colour for your family history research, archives such as these being created from hard-copy photographs are a real treasure. The beauty and the problem of course, is how many archives such as these are out there waiting to be discovered, and how do we know when they will be available for genealogical researchers, archivists and historians alike to find? The answer is of course, the Internet and our research persistance. But can you imagine what it would be like to find a picture of a long-dead relative and be able to obtain a copy of the image to add to the birth, marriage and death certificates you already have.