Many local histories published before 1923 and out of copyright are available online via Google Books. These books—examples are shown on this page—can be excellent places to get ideas about a town's history and to find details of specific events and people.
To search for a history of your town, enter the name of the town in a Google search. When the results come up, click on "More" on the left side of screen, then on "Books" on the next screen.
To see what full books are available, scroll down and click on "Free Google eBooks." You won't find a history of every town, but there are many available.
Google Books is not the only source of online local histories. Try these other sources for full books as well.