About

Local History & Genealogy

Local History Collection

Local History Room

Visit the Sherborn Library’s Local History Room, located on the first floor near the Circulation desk. The Library offers significant print local history collections, including yearbooks, oral histories and video discs of 20th and 21st century Sherborn veterans. 

Much of the Local History collection was acquired from the Dowse Library, which included volumes from the first central Library in 1860, itself a collection of three Libraries -- the Agricultural Library, the Social Circle Library and the Plain School District Library. Read more about Sherborn Library’s history.

Genealogy

The Library has a subscription to Ancestry (in-Library use) and Heritage Quest. The Library also has a Genealogy Club that meets on the third Wednesday of every month at 1:00 PM. Everyone is welcome, newcomers to genealogy and experienced researchers share thoughts and suggestions.  We also have periodic guest speaker events.

Digital Collections

The Sherborn Library has added local historical items to the Internet Archives through The Digital Commonwealth initiative. These works are searchable and we hope will provide greater access for our patrons and preserve the documents for future generations.  Below you will find the free digital copies of various local history materials.  The Library also offers a significant print local history collections, including oral histories and video discs of 20th and 21st century Sherborn veterans.

Sherborn Historical Society

The Society has been preserving the town’s history and artifacts for over a century. Including an extraordinary collection of artifacts, research on local histories and genealogy and our extensive restoration projects. Click here to visit the Sherborn Historical Society's website and learn more about the organization, collection and upcoming events. 

Campbell, Thurza. Leland Mill Reservation : history remembered, nature enjoyed : a restorative vision

Gordon, Edward W., O’Brien, Mark P. Sherborn Historic Resource Survey v.1,  v.2,  v.3,  v.4. Sherborn, MA: Sherborn Historical Commission, 1982.

Johnson, Elizabeth. A snapshot photo tour of Sherborn in 2002. Sherborn, MA: Sherborn Historical Society, 2002.

Powicki, Margaret R. The Sherborn Daffodil Trail. Sherborn, MA, 2015. 

Schnure, Arthur. Sherborn walks : exploring publicly accessible land in Sherborn, Massachusetts. Sherborn Forest & Trail Association, 1992. 49p.

Sherborn Cemeteries. Sherborn, MA, 1905. 142p.

Sherborn comprehensive communitywide survey project : survey phase IV products. Sherborn, MA:  Sherborn Historical Commission, 1999. 524p.

Bardwell, Frances. Historical sketches of the town of Sherborn: in Massachusetts. Sherborn, MA: Sherborn Historical Committee, 1952. 54p.

Biglow, William. History of Sherburne, Mass., from its incorporation, MDCLXXIV, to the end of the year MDCCCXXX : including that of Framingham and Holliston, so far as they were constituent parts of that town. Milford, MA: Ballou & Stacy, 1830. 80p.

Coolidge, Deborah Perry Dowse. The Story of Sherborn. Sherborn, MA, 1918. 54p.

Kellen, William Vail. William Bradford Homer Dowse: A Memoir. Boston, MA: Privately Printed, 1929. 44p.

Leland, Sherman. The Leland Magazine. Boston, MA: Wier & White, 1850. 278p.

Morse, Abner. A genealogical register of the inhabitants and history of the towns of Sherborn and Holliston. Boston: Danrell & Moore, 1856. 340 p.

Shaughnessy, Anne Carr. A Guide to Sherborn. Sherborn, MA.: 300th Anniversary Committee, 1974. 184p.

Shaughnessy, Anne Carr. The History of Sherborn. Sherborn, Mass.:300th Anniversary Committee, 1974. 262 pp.

Sherborn Historical Society. The Century Turns. Sherborn, MA: Sherborn Historical Society, 1966. 24p.

Sherborn Past and Present, 1674-1924. Sherborn, MA: Sherborn Historical Society, 1924. 78 p.

300th anniversary of the Massachusetts Bay coinage known as Pine Tree : 1652-1952. Boston, MA: State Street Trust Company, 1952.