Directories flourished in the last half of the 19th century and various publishers took on the task of producing directories. Business owners turned to print advertising to increase their visibility in the marketplace.

Specialized directories also occasionally appeared. "The Grand Trunk Railway gazetteer, commercial advertiser and business directory" which was published in 1862 is a specialized directory, but fundamentally it had the same interests of business and transportation at its core as mainstream directories. This directory included a brief description of Colborne, one of the train stops on its line.

The Grand Trunk gazetteer also published two other features that became standards in most directories and gazetteers - an "Alphabetical list of Professionals, Trades & c." listing and a section of graphically designed business advertisements. The "Alphabetical list of Professionals, Trades & c." usually appeared directly below the town description alphabetically arranged by the businessman's last name or company name. (Some directories had an alphabetical listing by profession with the names of businessmen from the various featured counties listed together - in the manner of The Yellow Pages, a publication which appeared in the early 20th century). The advertisements appeared near the town description or towards the end of a publication.

Hotels, groceries, grain dealers, and transportation (carriage makers, harness makers, stables) were major forms of employment. Local economies were often so robust that several businessmen were often in direct competition with one another. In Colborne, for example, W. Benedict, W.D. Caston, George Ingles, William Shannon and Charles Underhill worked as grocers.

Women's names as business owners appeared infrequently in directories and gazetteers, reflecting the social and economic experiences of the late 19th century. Miss S. Doyle listed herself as a milliner and dressmaker in the 1862 Grand Trunk gazetteer, leading the way for other Colborne women to publish their businesses and services. Two years later in the 1864-65 Mitchell's Canada gazetteer, Miss S. Doyle's name appeared again as a milliner and dressmaker and Mrs. M. Gifford listed herself as in the same business. Mrs. M. Shadborn was also listed as running a saloon and eating house on King Street.

Some publishers focussed in depth upon small geographic areas such as several neighbouring counties - these directories published rich data for small towns and communities. The Gazetteer and general business directory for the united counties of Northumberland and Durham, for 1865-6 contained the standard features - the alphabetical business listing and advertisements. A number of Colborne businessmen such as R.E. Bywater, John Griffis and Dr. A.N. Bethune paid for print advertising. Mrs. Elizabeth McDonald, proprietor of the Colborne Hotel, also appeared in this section.

The 1865 gazetteer also contained a Residents listing. It was organized alphabetically by surname of freeholder residents, usually adult male, along with the location of their properties by concession and lot numbers. Occasionally a woman's names appeared in this list but more often it seems that women were noted as a 'widow' beside the family surname. (This directory did not provide a key for the abbreviations but the following is likely - f, freeholder; bf, broken front and the digits reference concessions and/or lots. It is not known what h represented). The inclusion of a Residents listing was a massive undertaking of door to door visits to compile this data.

The 1870-71 County of Northumberland directory provided a brief geographical boundary of Cramahe Township and a Residents listing. As noted above, the Residents listing was organized by an alphabetical listing of freeholder residents by surname, usually adult male, along with the information about the area of their properties. Occupations were also included on occasion. (This directory did not provide a key for the abbreviations but the following is likely - f, freeholder; pt, part; bf, broken front; t, townline and the digits reference concessions and/or lots). The 1870-71 County of Northumberland directory also included a business listing and advertisements.

The 1884 Union Publishing Co's Farmers' & Business Directory for the counties of Durham, Peterborough, and Victoria contained a residents listing for Cramahe Township. Many Colborne businessmen purchased advertising space in this directory, some of whom included a graphic image to help tell the story of their products and services. These businessmen selected a standardized graphic image for an extra fee from the directory salesmen.

The names of some prominent late 19th century Cramahe businessmen appeared in the alphabetical business listing and advertisements - J.D. Brooks, flour, feed and grain miller; J.D. Rutherford, watchmaker and jeweller; Kelley and Craig proprietors at the Arlington Hotel; James Scougale, carriages and harness; Albert German, manager at the Windsor House; George Chown, metal worker; George Keyes, editor and proprietor at the Colborne Express; McLean and Carnall, wood engravers, J.L. Yeoman, livery and sales stables, Wm H. Donaghy, furniture dealer and G.W. Batty, marble and granite works.

The Union Publishing Co's Farmers' & Business Directory for the counties of Durham, Northumberland, Peterborough, Victoria 1886-7 published a residents listing for Cramahe Township and several local businessmen such as Charles Larke, D.E. Palmer and W.W. Tuttle placed ads in the publication.

The 1887 Farmers' and Classified Business Directory for the Counties of Durham, Northumberland, Peterborough and Victoria printed a residents listing of Cramahe Township. A number of business owners purchased ad space, including William H. Ives of Builders Emporium, Hicks of Brunswick House, L.C. Bailey soap, J.L. Yeomans & Sons of Central Livery Stables, Charles Larke of Standard Bank and J.H. Chapman Carriages.

Much like its predecessors, the Farmers' and Classified Business Directory for the Counties of Durham, Northumberland, Peterboro and Victoria for 1890 offered a residents listing, an alphabetical listing of businessmen, and advertising. A comparison of Ives' business advertising between this 1890 directory and the 1887 Farmers' Directory Ives' shows that he had become the manager of the Colborne Electric Light Company.

The earliest Bell Directory to contain Colborne telephone numbers located thus far appeared in 1899. There were 20 phone numbers in the town.