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Online Local History Research

This page lists online resources for your local history research.

For assistance with local history or genealogy research:

For more information on local history resources at Forbes Library see our Local History page.

Northampton Area

Free Anywhere

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.

This is a librarian recommended website. Want help using this resource? Contact us.

Free Anywhere

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.

This is a librarian recommended website. Want help using this resource? Contact us.

Free Anywhere

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.

This is a librarian recommended website. Want help using this resource? Contact us.

Free Anywhere

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.

This is a librarian recommended website. Want help using this resource? Contact us.

Free Anywhere

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.

This is a librarian recommended website. Want help using this resource? Contact us.

Statewide and Regional Resources

Free Anywhere

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.

This is a librarian recommended website. Want help using this resource? Contact us.

Free Anywhere

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.

This is a librarian recommended website. Want help using this resource? Contact us.

Free Anywhere

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.

This is a librarian recommended website. Want help using this resource? Contact us.