Local History/Genealogy

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.

Check out GPL's Digital Collections, including the Community-Wide Preservation Survey. Other collections, such as Groton Town Diaries, 1918-1971 and The Groton Herald are still under construction or migrating to a new software platform. Until those digital collections are ready for viewing, digital copies may be accessed on one of the computers in the library by prior arrangement (contact the Reference desk to set up an appointment).

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, architectural surveys of historic buildings, features, and neighborhoods in Groton, published by the Groton Historical Commission: Segment 1 (2006); Segment 2 (2007); Segment 3 (2008) in 13 bound volumes. Digital copies are readily available with GPL's Digital Collections, or searchable database MACRIS: Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System from the Massachusetts Historical Commission (set City/Town filter for Groton).

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 in other libraries or repositories:

• Online historic newspaper coverage for Groton can be found in Turner's Public Spirit (also published at various times under the banners Groton Public Spirit, The Public Spirit or The Weekly Public Spirit). Published in Ayer (formerly known as Groton Junction), Massachusetts, the newspaper covers Groton, Ayer and surrounding communities. The largest surviving collection of these newspapers is now available courtesy of the Ayer Library, with intermittent coverage from 1860-1949. See Ayer Library Community Archive.
• 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