The Groton Public Library Historical Room houses the Groton Collection—primarily books of historical and genealogical interest to the community, along with a small collection of manuscript and archival materials relating to Groton.
The Historical Room is open at any time during regular library hours and you may request to see materials from the Groton Collection by asking the Reference Librarian on the upper level. The librarian can also assist you with your research.
All of the books (bound volumes) in the Historical Room are cataloged and can be found by searching our online catalog.
You may email us with specific questions relating to Groton history or the genealogy of Groton families. The library staff will answer your questions as time permits. Send your inquiries to info@gpl.org.
Items in the Historical Room include:
- Groton Town Reports (1859 - present)
- Maps of Groton, dating back to 1829
- Groton Town Diaries (1918 - 1971)
- Newspapers, Groton Herald (1979 - present) and Groton Landmark (1902-1913, lacking volumes for 1905, 1907, and 1909, and 1997 - present). Groton Landmark/Nashoba Valley Voice (2001 - present) is also available online from NewsBank
- Groton High School yearbooks (1960-1979) and Groton-Dunstable Regional High School yearbooks (1981 - present)
- Groton directories (1918, 1929, 1990s) and street lists (1967 - present)
- Community-Wide Preservation Survey, an architectural survey of historic buildings in Groton, published by the Groton Historical Commission. Segment 1 (2006); Segment 2 (2007); Segment 3 (2008), with digital copies now available online.
Materials in the Historical Room are non-circulating, but many of the books about Groton are also available in our circulating collection and may be checked out. See Annotated Bibliography of Groton History for a list of selected titles. Check the catalog for current availability.
Many historical resources for Groton are also available online:
- A Map of the Town of Groton, Middlesex County, Mass. : from a survey made in the years 1828 & 1829 by Caleb Butler – at the Harvard Geospacial Library, Harvard University Library
- Maps of Groton, 1875-1893, from WardMaps.com.
- Early Church Records of Groton, Massachusetts, 1761-1830: Containing a List of Admissions to the Church : with Lists of Marriages and Baptisms and Various Other Memoranda : with Notes and an Introduction, by Samuel Abbott Green (1896), from an original copy at Harvard University
- The Early Records of Groton, Massachusetts, 1662-1707, by Samuel Abbott Green (1880), from an original copy at Harvard University
- Epitaphs from the Old Burying Ground in Groton, Massachusetts, with Notes and an Appendix, by Samuel Abbott Green (1878), from an original copy at Harvard University
- Groton During the Indian Wars, by Samuel Abbott Green (1883), from an original copy at Harvard University
- Groton During the Revolution, by Samuel Abbott Green (1900), from an original copy at Harvard University
- Groton Historical Series: A Collection of Papers Relating to the History of the Town of Groton, Massachusetts, by Samuel Abbott Green, 4 vols. (1877-1899)
- The Natural History and the Topography of Groton, Massachusetts: Together with Other Matter Relating to the History of the Town, Vol. I and Vol. II, by Samuel Abbott Green (1912-1914), from an original copy at Harvard University
- Old Highways and Landmarks of Groton, Massachusetts, by Francis Marion Boutwell (1884), from an original copy at Harvard University
- The Town Records of Groton, Massachusetts, 1662-1678, edited by Samuel Abbott Green (1879), from an original copy at Harvard University