Westfield State College Ely Library
Massachusetts History Research Guide
The purpose of this guide is to lead the beginning researcher to useful sources available for the study of Massachusetts History. The list of sources is not exhaustive. Please consult with a Reference Librarian for additional suggestions.

For related subject research guides see: African-American History, American History,  Political Science, and Sociology.
 
Library Catalogs
Newspapers
Selected Resources from the Ely Library Collection
Archives, Societies and Libraries
Databases
Museums and Historical Sites


Library Catalogs

Ely Library Catalog
Also see the guide to searching the Ely Library Catalog.  Recommended search:  Subject browse:  Massachusetts -- History.

Massachusetts Virtual Catalog
http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/mvc.html
This works best to locate materials you know already exist.  The author and title searches are the best options in this catalog.

WorldCat
Searches catalogs of more than 10,000 libraries worldwide.  It is a better option than Massachusetts Virtual Catalog when you do not know if the items you are searching for exist.  A good choice for subject searching.


Selected Resources from the Ely Library Collection

Commonwealth History of Massachusetts, Colony, Province and State.  Hart, Albert Bushnell.  New York: States History Company, 1930.  (STACK F64 .H32)

Maps of Early Massachusetts : Pre-history through the Seventeenth Century.  Edited by Lincoln A. Dexter.  Wilbraham, Mass. : Dexter, 1979.
(REFERENCE G1231.S1 D4x 1979)

The Maritime History of Massachusetts, 1783-1860.  Morison, Samuel Eliot.  Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1941.
(STACK HF3161.M4 M6 1941)

Massachusetts : a Bicentennial History. Brown, Richard D.  New York : Norton, 1978.
(STACK F64 .B86)

Massachusetts : a Concise History.   Brown, Richard D., et al.  Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press, 2000.
(STACK F64 .B86 2000)

The Massachusetts Adventure : a Guide for Teachers. Thomas, Courtney Johnson and Myers, Susan.  Layton, Utah : Gibbs-Smith, 2000.
(ERC F64 .I35 Gr.3-4 2000 Teacher Guide)

Massachusetts from Colony to Commonwealth : an Illustrated History.  Clark, Judith Freeman, et al.  Sun Valley, Calif. : American Historical Press, 2002.
(STACK F64 .C58 2002)

The Story of Western Massachusetts.  Wright, Harry Andrew.  New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1949.
(STACK F64 .W85 1949)



Databases

America:  History & Life    Limited to WSC community use
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#AHL)
Provides citations to dissertations and journals published worldwide including selected historical journals from major countries, state and local history journals, as well as a selection of journals in the social sciences and humanities relating to the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. The database provides full-text links to many journal articles in Project Muse, JSTOR, Ebsco, and other full-text databases in our collection.  For more information on using this database, see our Search Guide.

History Resource Center: U.S.    Limited to WSC community use
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#History Resource)
Provides a complete overview of U.S. history with comprehensive coverage of the most-studied events, issues and current information. Coverage includes content that is 50% or more from primary source documents, including monographs, pamphlets, first-person accounts, etc. Additional content includes documents from digital archives, encyclopedic articles, country and era overview information; full-text periodicals and journals; a historical bibliography; and links to digitized special collections. For more information on using this database, see our Search Guide.

JSTOR Limited to WSC community use
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#JSTOR)
Contains PDF full text of many scholarly journals, including a collection of 39 History journals. Since coverage is retrospective, the latest 3-5 years of journal issues are not available. For more information on using this database, see our Search Guide.

MassVirtual Catalog

Project Muse   Limited to WSC community use
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Project Muse)
Contains the full text of journals for many subjects, including History, and American and Native American studies. The latest 5-10 years of journal issues are available. For more information on using this database, see our Search Guide.

In the First Person
(Internet Site: http://www.inthefirstperson.com)
A database indexing primary source documents available in digital repositories. This database indexes letters, diaries, oral histories, and personal narratives relating to all subjects and eras of American History. These documents can be searched by keyword or subject. The online files available include audio, video, and text versions of the accounts.

Academic Search Premier   Limited to WSC community use
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Academic)
General subject coverage. For magazine and journal references as well as full-text articles. For more information on using this database, see our Search Guide.

Expanded Academic ASAP   Limited to WSC community use
(Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Expanded Academic)
General subject coverage. For magazine and journal references as well as full-text articles. For more information on using this database, see our Search Guide.


Newspapers

Massachusetts Newsstand - ProQuest, Inc.    Dates Vary by Newspaper       Updated Daily
Access to full text from 12 Massachusetts Newspapers;

Massachusetts Newspapers
http://newslink.org/manews.html
Online Massachusetts Newspapers.  Coverage varies by publication.

Zimmer Index
http://www3.websearchstudio.net/scripts/ws.dll?websearch&site=Zimmer
An index to late 19th & early 20th century newspaper articles compiled by the librarians at the Massachusetts State Library.  The Zimmer Index aims to cover "newspaper articles of interest to legislators and citizens of the Commonwealth. This resource indexes newspapers from Boston and the surrounding area from 1878 to 1937."



Archives, Societies and Libraries

Archives in Massachusetts (New England Archivists)
http://www.newenglandarchivists.org/resources/internet_resources/new_england/massachusetts.html
List of archives in Massachusetts that have websites.  Includes sites of interest in Western Massachusetts including the Springfield Armory, UMass Amherst Special Collections and Old Sturbridge Village.

Boston Athenaeum, Digital Collections
http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/digital.html
Founded in 1807, the Athenaeum is one of the oldest and most distinguished independent libraries in the United States.  The Athenaeum's digital collections include the Boston African Americana Collection and the Alexander Parris Project.  The Boston African Americana Collection is a database containing "images and transcriptions of over five hundred items spanning the years 1770 to 1950, with the bulk of the collection falling around 1865."  The Alexander Parris Digital Collection "includes architectural and mechanical drawings, specifications, correspondence, and accounts, and span Parris’s career, from 1803 to 1851."

Massachusetts Historical Society
http://www.masshist.org/
An independent research library founded in 1791 that aims to "promote the study of the history of Massachusetts and the nation."  The website offers many documents online, including the Adams family papers.

Massachusetts Historical Commission
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/
The state agency that oversees the preservation of historical sites in Massachusetts.  Includes links to useful forms and publications.  Provides a virtual tour to the exhibit Archaeology of the Big Dig.

The Mayflower Society: General Society of Mayflower Descendants
http://www.themayflowersociety.com/
Hereditary organization founded "more than one hundred years ago, [by] a group of descendants of the Pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower in 1620, [and] saw the need for a national society to honor their memory." Features a list of the families who arrived on the Mayflower at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, the Mayflower Compact, a brief history, an application form, and links to state groups and related sites.

Salem Witch Trials: Documentary Archive and Transcription Project  
http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/
An "electronic collection of primary source materials relating to the Salem [Massachusetts] witch trials of 1692 and a new transcription of the court records." Contains an overview essay about the trials, court records, maps, profiles of notable people, and links to related archives. Also includes full text works by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Mary E. Wilkins [Freeman]. From the Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library.

The State Library of Massachusetts
http://www.mass.gov/lib/
The State Library offers a "growing collection" of digital resources, as well as information about their holdings.

The State Normal School, Westfield
http://www.hampdencountyhistory.com/westfield/wn/index.html
Book that documents the history of the State Normal School, which is now Westfield State College, from 1839-1907.  Book is entirely reproduced here, with easy access to chapters through the table of contents.

Du Bois: The Activist Life   
http://www.library.umass.edu/spcoll/exhibits/dubois/intro.htm
This site, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries, features a biographical essay and chronology of the scholar, author, sociologist, co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and editor of The Crisis and other journals. Also contains a description of the W.E.B. Du Bois Papers collection and an exhibit of materials from the collection.


Museums and Historical Sites

The Battle of Bunker Hill:  "The Decisive Day Is Come"
http://www.masshist.org/bh/
The story of the famous battle of June 17, 1775 is told here with "personal accounts and eyewitness descriptions of the battle, along with contemporary maps, drawings, engravings, broadsides, and artifacts, either preserved by the participants or found on the battlefield." Also includes biographical sketches of the authors and recipients of the documents presented. From the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Birthplace of John F. Kennedy: Home of the Boy Who Would Be President
 http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/33jfk/33jfk.htm
This lesson plan about John F. Kennedy "can be used as a biographical study, an introduction to the Kennedy presidency and the turbulent sixties, or as part of a unit on post-World War II American history." Provides readings, images, activities, and a map of the area around the John F. Kennedy National Historic Site in Brookline, Massachusetts. Part of the Teaching With Historic Places Lesson Plans program of the National Park Service (NPS).

The Boott Cotton Mills of Lowell, Massachusetts: Building America's Industrial Revolution
 http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/21boott/21boott.htm
This lesson plan is based on the national historic park that is the site of "mills built from the mid-1830s to the early 20th century, reflecting the early use of waterpower, steam power, and finally electric power." Discusses the Industrial Revolution, cotton mill equipment, the textile industry, and related topics. Includes images, maps, and related resources. From the National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places program.

Hancock Shaker Village
http://www.hancockshakervillage.org
This village is run by a nonprofit organization "that preserves and presents to the public the Shakers' legacy at their community in Hancock, Massachusetts. The Shaker Central Ministry closed the community in 1960." The site features a virtual tour of the grounds, a history of the Shaker social and religious movement in America, a bibliography (from 2001), a Hancock community census, and related information.

Hoophall.com
http://www.hoophall.com/
The official site of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Contains biographical information, including statistics and photos, about the individuals (players, coaches, contributors, and referees) and teams enshrined as basketball's best. The history section contains a biography of James Naismith and some of his stories and speeches, origins of the Hall, and information on other milestones of the sport.

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
http://www.jfklibrary.org/
This library and museum is dedicated to the memory of President Kennedy and contains "historical materials chronicling mid-20th century politics and the life and administration of John F. Kennedy."  Many online resources including materials for teachers, image galleries, and searchable archive and manuscript records.

A Historical Investigation into the Past: Lizzie Borden/ Fall River Case Study
http://ccbit.cs.umass.edu/lizzie/
Contains "late nineteenth century primary source materials from the Lizzie Borden axe murder trial and from Fall River, Massachusetts." Includes photographs, illustrations, census data, maps, newspaper clippings, Borden family documents (land purchases and sales, wills, credit ratings, a family tree), and transcriptions of Edmund Pearson's "Trial of Lizzie Borden" (1937) and Edwin H. Porter's "The Fall River Tragedy: A History of the Borden Murders" (1893). From the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Added to LII: 2002-05-01

Museum of Afro American History Boston 
http://www.afroammuseum.org
This institution is "dedicated to preserving, conserving and accurately interpreting the contributions of African Americans during the colonial period in New England." The site features information about museum exhibits, the African Meeting House and Abiel Smith School, and the Black Heritage Trail (a "walking tour encompassing the largest collection of historic sites in the country relating to the life of a free African American community prior to the Civil War"). Includes links to related sites.

New Bedford Whaling Museum
http://www.whalingmuseum.org/
This museum "is the largest museum in America devoted to the history of the American whaling industry and its greatest port" in Massachusetts. Its site features databases of online collections (objects, photos, and logbooks), an overview of museum exhibits, and links to online exhibits, such as on the photos of sailboats by Norman Fortier and paintings of sailing ships and Arctic seas by William Bradford.

Old Sturbridge Village
http://www.osv.org
This living history center in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, depicts village life in early 19th century New England. The "Learning Lab" section of the site provides annotated images of objects, historic documents, papers and articles, and graphics of the period. The site also features materials for children (such as craft instructions, games and puzzles, and articles), lesson plans, a quilt exhibit, and a virtual tour of the center. Searchable.

Peabody Essex Museum
http://www.pem.org/index.html
This museum of art, architecture, and culture located in Salem, Massachusetts contains 200 years of history. It encompasses American Decorative Arts; Asian, Oceanic and African Arts and Culture; Asian Export Art; Early American Architecture; Maritime Art and History (including Scrimshaw and Folk Arts, a section on Signal Flags Systems , and ship riggings ); Native American Art and Archaeology; and Natural History. The museum also includes the Phillips Library, which is one of New England's largest research libraries.

Pilgrim Hall
http://www.pilgrimhall.org/plgrmhll2.htm
This site combines images of items from the museum with well-documented historical information to illuminate the Plymouth Colony and the Wampanoag Nation (American Indian tribe) story to 1692. Includes the background of the settlers, the voyage of the Mayflower, and the "First Thanksgiving." Also provides brief biographies of colonists, articles about the colony, and transcripts of documents such as wills, inventories, and the Mayflower Compact.

Places Where Women Made History
http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/pwwmh/
This site "focuses on 75 historic places in New York and Massachusetts associated with the varied aspects of women's history." Learn about the "many American women who made outstanding contributions to education, government, medicine, the arts, commerce, women's suffrage and the early civil rights movement." Provides itineraries, maps, site descriptions, and more. From the National Park Service (NPS).

Plimoth Plantation
http://www.plimoth.org
This living history center in Plymouth, Massachusetts, re-creates a 1627 Pilgrim village that was "built by English colonists in the midst of the Wampanoag homeland." The site features a virtual tour of the village and a Wampanoag homesite, articles about the colonists and Native Americans, Thanksgiving recipes, and an interactive feature about the first Thanksgiving. Also includes tourist information for Plymouth.

Sports Temples of Boston: Images of Historic Ballparks, Arenas and Stadiums, 1872-1972  
http://www.bpl.org/sportstemples
This exhibit provides "images of the greatest sports battlegrounds in Boston. These images span 100 years from 1872 through 1972." Features the Boston Arena, Boston Garden, Braves Field, Fenway Park, Charles River Speedway, and other arenas. Each image is accompanied by a brief description and history of the stadium. From the Boston Public Library.

U.S.S. Constitution: "Old Ironsides"
http://www.ussconstitution.navy.mil/
Official site for this ship docked in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest commissioned warship afloat. The site offers a virtual tour of this ship constructed in the 1790s, a timeline, images of the ship and its crew, event information, and related articles. Also includes links to related sites. From the U.S. Navy.


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Last updated 03/02/08