Online Local History Research

The David Ruggles Center for Early Florence History & Underground Railroad Studies aims to collect and organize comprehensive copies of all materials pertinent to the early history of Florence and the Underground Railroad in western Massachusetts; providing historical exhibits, lectures and walking tours. The website contains historical and biographical articles on abolitionists and early African American residents.

Digital Amherst is a project of the Jones Library, the public library of Amherst, Massachusetts. It is a pilot project to develop a small but rich online collection of the historic and cultural stories about the town of Amherst and its influence in the Connecticut Valley and beyond.

Welcome to the online special collections of Forbes Library, including the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum and the Hampshire Room for Local History and Special Collections. We invite you to explore the collection for both pleasure and research.

This database contains only our digital archival and Special Collections materials. Additional special collections that have not yet been digitized can be seen in the library by appointment.

A great local history resource! Search by keyword in Historic Northampton’s digital catalog and archives containing thousands of photographs, historic newspapers and maps, and extensive digital collections database. Includes the Howes Brothers Collection, genealogy resources, and images of the earliest issues of the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

Images From The Archives allows you to search a portion of the library’s special collections which have been digitized. It’s great place to find images from local history, from the Mill River disaster to old portraits and photographs of iconic Northampton buildings. Newer content includes a community digital photography project and recent additions to the library’s fine art collection.

Amherst’s public library. Holdings include regional history, genealogy, manuscripts and photographs.

The National Archivespreserves and cares for Federal records.  The National Archives at Pittsfield is closed.  Microfilm from Pittsfield is now located at the Berkshire Athenaeum.  The National Archives at Boston (Waltham) is open to genealogists and researchers.

The Northampton Web Archive provides snapshots in time of websites of importance to the Northampton area.

Among the collections digitized by UMass Amherst’s Special Collections are over 40,000 items from the W.E.B. Dubois papers including correspondence, writings, and photographs making this a great resource for historians.

A portal to the rich cultural heritage held in museums, historical societies, colleges, libraries and other cultural repositories in Massachusetts. From this site you can search or browse the digital collections of over 100 member institutions throughout the state for manuscripts, images, historical documents, and sound recordings, providing you with enhanced access and retrieval of information.
Over a hundred organizations are members of Digital Commonwealth. As more of our members contribute their holdings, the variety and quantity of searchable objects will increase, and the richer and more valuable this portal will become.

The Friends of Quabbin page has some resources for anyone interested in the history of the Quabbin Reservoir including the history of Enfield, Dana, Greenwich, and Prescott, the four towns which were leveled in preparation for the flooding of the Swift River Valley.

A museum of early New England town architecture and lifestyle history.

A searchable directory of archives and special collections in Massachusetts, produced by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners

An electronic almanac of Massachusetts history produced by the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities.

The Massachusetts Archives holds the official records created by Massachusetts state government. Holdings are organized by agency and date from 1629 to the present.

In addition to its own collections, the library’s web site provides a guide provides an introduction to historical research at repositories other than the Massachusetts Historical Society.l

This site provides you with quick access to land records across Massachusetts. Most documents from 1948 on are searchable, and many other documents can be viewed online if the book and page number are known.

The Museum of Springfield History combines the holdings of the Connecticut Valley Historical Society and the collections formerly housed in the Local History Room at the Springfield Library.
Collections include Genealogy, Springfield History, French Canadian Collection, Springfield Newspapers, Maps, Photographs, Manuscripts and Ephemera.

The National Archivespreserves and cares for Federal records.  The National Archives at Pittsfield is closed.  Microfilm from Pittsfield is now located at the Berkshire Athenaeum.  The National Archives at Boston (Waltham) is open to genealogists and researchers.

This collaboration of historical societies, sites, and museums has created a website including a directory of sites and an overview of research sources.