Worthington Historical Society

The Worthington Historical Society Library

The Worthington Historical Society has a growing number of reference books including books about Worthington and neighboring communities, military histories, state and federal documents, and books about geneological research and archives. We also have a number of titles on searchable CDs. In 2008, we were proud to be awarded a collection of reference books and other materials titled the "Connecting to Collections Bookshelf" by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Please also go to the Publications page for books published by the Worthington Historical Society.

Our titles are listed alphabetically within the sections listed below. Please contact Diane Brenner, 238-5593, if you wish to see any of these books or CDs.

Books and CDs About Worthington

Books about Hampshire, Berkshire, Frnaklin and Hampden Counties and the Hilltowns

Miscellaneous Reference Materials and CDs

Books About Genealogies, Archives and Maintaining Archival Collections


Books and CDs About Worthington or with sections about Worthington

ABC's of the Pioneer Valley, Western Massachusetts, by the Pioneer Valley Association, 1976, softcover

"The Edgerton Papers": scans of original documents related to the founding and original settlement of the Town of Worthington. Documents numbered 1-55 plus 2 appendices. 5 CDs

"Golden Opportunities in Our Hill Towns," by John W. Colton, in Western New England, Vol. 1, No. 6, May 1911, magazine

The Hampshire History - Celebrating 300 Years of Hampshire County Massachusetts, compiled by Lawrence Wikander, Helen Terry, Mark Kiley, 1964, Northampton, Hampshire County Commissioners, hardcover

Hilltown Business Directory, 1984 edition, Hilltown Community Development Corporation, softcover

Historic Hampshire in the Connecticut Valley, by Clifton Johnson, 1932, Springfield, Milton Bradley Company, hardcover

History of the Town of Worthington, from it's First Settlement to 1874, 1874, Springfield, Clark W. Bryan & Company, hardcover. The volume includes Secular History of Worthington to 1854, by James C. Rice, Ecclesiastical History of Worthington to July 1, 1853, by the Rev. J. H. Bisbee, Continuation of the Ecclesiastical History of Worthington From 1853 to 1874, by J. H. Bisbee and "Our Home Towns, Worthington" by Theron B. Hitchcock, in Western Massachusetts Hi-Lines, Vol. 12, No. 1, June 1956, Western Massachusetts Electric Company, magazine

Secular History of the Town of Worthington from 1853 to 1874, by C. K. Brewster

The South Worthington Parish, by the Rev. George Reed Moody, 1899-1905, unsearchable PDF and CD

Vital Records of Worthington Massachusetts to the Year 1850, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1911, Boston. PDF (courtesy of Google Books) and CD

The Western Hampshire Highlands Massachusetts, Western Hampshire Board of Trade, 1912, softcover. Secular History of the Town of Worthington from 1853 to 1874, by C. K. Brewster


Books about Hampshire, Berkshire, Frnaklin and Hampden Counties and the Hilltowns

Becket Sons in a Massachusetts Settlement of New Connecticut, by Cathaline Alford Archer, New Haven, original draft, 1943, this printing, October 1953. 58 pp with notes, no images. softcover

A Bicentennial History of Becket, Berkshire County, Massachusetts (incorporated June 21, 1765), by Cathaline Alford Archer and Mitchell J. Mulholland and others, Becket Historical Society. Eagle Publishing, Pittsfield, 1965, index, maps at front and back covers, black and white illustrations throughout. Also newspaper articles about the book, hardcover

Early Vital Records of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden & Hampshire Counties, Mass. to about 1850, vital records for many towns. Hampshire towns are Cummington, Middlefield, Pelham and Plainfield. The Berkshire towns are Adams, Alford, Becket, Dalton, Great Barrington, Hinsdale, Lanesboro, Lee, Lenox, New Marlboro, North Adams, Otis, Peru, Pittsfield, Richmond, Sandisfield, Sheffield, Stockbridge Tryringham, W. Stockbridge, Washington, WEilliamstown, Windsor and New Ashford. The Franklin towns are Ashfield, Buckland, Charlemont, Colrain, Conway, Deerfield, Gill, Greenfield, Heath, Montague, New Salem, Shelburne and Whately and the Hampden towns are Agawam, Brimfield, Chester, Chicopee, E. Longmeadow, Granville, Holyoke, Longmeadow, Ludlow, Montgomery, Palmer, Springfield, W. Springfield and Wilbraham. , CD

A Gift from the Past, Nellie E. Haskell's History of Otis, Massachusetts, edited by Lynn Humason Wood, 1st edition, K & R Printers, Ellington, Conn, 1974. 104 pp, brown on cream, with photographs, map of Otis in 1849. Includes newspaper article about the book, softcover

A History of Cummington, Massachusetts, 1779-1979, by Olive Thayer, signed by Olive Thayer. spiral bound, Quality Printing Company, Pittsfield, 1979, 61 pages of text, lots of black and white photos, unpaginated, softcover

A History and Genealogy of the Families of Chesterfield, Massachusetts, 1762-1962, by Town of Chesterfield, Bicentenniel Genealogy Committee, 1962. Includes a variety of short clippings about the publication and article from 12/29/86 about Stanton Hall and proposed oral history porject. 427 pp plus names index, softcover

A History of Leverett Massachusetts, 1774-1974, Leverett Bicentennial Committee, 1974, hardcover with quilt on front, Gazette Printing Company, 1974, 126 pp. with numerous black and white photos and one color photo

A History of the Town of Middlefield Massachusetts, by Edward Philip and Theodore Smith, 1924, private publication, 662 pp with index, hardcover

History of the Town of Plainfield, Hampshire County, Mass., From its Settlement to 1891, including a genealogical history of twenty-three of the original settlers and their descendents, with anecdotes and sketches, by Charles N. Dyer, Press of Gazette Publishing Co., Northhampton, MA, 1891. 187 pages with black and white photos and some drawings. Obituary for Lora Dyer, daughter of Charles N. Dyer, pasted inside front cover, hardcover

History of the Town of Sunderland Massachusetts, 1899-1954", Vol. II, by Arthur W. Hubbard, Ruth C. Warner and Benjamin J. Toczydlowski and genealogies by Fred C. Warner, no date, pre 1966, 462 pp plus genealogical index "The Hope of the Hill Towns -- What Trolly Extension into this Section Will Mean" by John Dayton Willard, in Western New England , Vol. 2, No. 1, January 1912, magazine

The 150th Anniversary of the Town of Dalton, Massachusetts, 1784-1934, Eagle Press, Pittsfield, 103 pp., black and white illustrations

Lanesborough Massachusetts, The Story of a Wilderness Settlement, 1765-1965, by Framces S. Martin, 1965, Eagle Printing, Pittsfield, signed by author. 110 pp. with map on endpaper, index. Includes some articles and booklets related to Lanesboro and the book. harcover

Lenox, Massachusetts Shire Town, by David H. Wood, published by Town, 1969, 219 pp. incl. index. News article about Church on the Hill

"A Little History of Indian Hollow near Huntington, Massachusetts" by Elizabeth Hartley, Orlando, Florida, 1934. Typewritten manuscript

Map of the County of Berkshire, 1858. Copy of wall map, with homeowner names next to house location. Each town has its own page. CD

Middlefield History, A sequel to 'A History of the Town of Middlefield, Massachusetts' published in 1924 by Edward Church Smith and Philip Mack Smith, by Mary E. Sternagle and Henry S.C. Cummings, Jr., privately printed, 1985. 565 pages with names index. Also, map of Middlefield in 1982, and numerous newspaper articles, hardcover

Picturesque Hampshire, supplement to the Quarter-Centennial-Journal, 1890, Northampton, hardcover

Richmond, Massachusetts, The Story of a Berkshire Town and Its People, 1765-1965, by Katharine Huntington Annin, Richmond Civic Association, 1964, 214 pp. with foldout map and index. Signed by the author with various clippings about the book and its author

Southampton, Newtown on the Manhan, An history of the Town called Southampton, in the County of Hampshire, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, formerly the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, compiled and published under the direction of William F. Czelusniak, edited by Dorothy Andrews and Amellia Malanson, illustrations edited by Theodore L. Hendrick," 1975, published by the Southampton Bicentennial Committee, 237 pages, brown on cream pages, article title index, maps on end papers, photos and drawings throughout, hardcover
Tracing the Telephone in Western Massachusetts 1877-1930, edited and compiled by Clark M. Wilson, 1959, self published, hard cover

Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Incorporation of Chesterfield, Mass., 1762-1962, by the Bicentennial Commmittee, Gazette Printing Company, 1962, softcover

The Vital Records of Cummington Massachusetts, 1762-1900, by William W. Streeter. Daphne H. Morris, self published, 1979, 415 pp. including index. Also includes numerous clippings about the book and its authors, hardcover

The Vital History of the Town of Stratford, new Hampshire, 1773-1925, by Jeanette R. Thompson, The Rumford Press, Concord, N.H., 1925, 525 pp. with map. Includes numerous articles about the town and townspeople. Lois Ashe Brown came from this town

200th Anniversary Celebration - Town of Windsor, Compliments of Mr. and Mrs. W. Henry Estes, Windsor, Mass., 128 pages, brown type on cream paper with numerous photographs. Also includes news articles associated with the bicentennial, softcover



Miscellaneous Reference Materials and CDs

"1890 Union Veterans Special Census," Hampshire County, Massachusetts, CD

Early Maps of Massachusetts, assorted maps. CD.

Gazetteer of the State of Massachusetts, 1874. CD

Lyndon Vermont, Annual Report, 1974, softcover

The Roots of Rural Capitalism: Western Massachusetts 1780-1860, by Christopher Clark, 1990, Cornell University Press, softcover



Books About Archives and Maintaining Archival Collections

The Care of Prints and Drawings, by Margaret Ellis Holben, 1996, AltaMira Press, softcover.

Caring for American Indian Objects: A Practical and Cultural Guide, edited by Sherelyn Ogden, 2004, Minnesota History Society Press, softcover.

Caring for Your Family Treasures, by Jane Long and Richard Long, 2000, Heritage Preservation, Inc., softcover

Connecting to Collections: A Guide to Online Resources, Heritage Preservation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2007, CD

Field Guide to Emergency Response, Heritage Preservation, Inc., 2006, softcover

Framework for Preservation of Museum Collections, Canadian Conservation Institute, 2004, Canadian Heritage, softcover

International Review of African American Art, Hampton University Museum, 2007, Vol.21, no. 4, magazine

The National Trust Manual of Housekeeping, The National Trust, 2006, Elsevier Butterwork-Heinemann, hardcover

The Nature of Conservation: A Race Against Time, by Philip Ward, 1986, The Getty Conservation Institute, softcover

Photographs: Archival Care and Management, by Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler and Diane Vogt-O'Connor, 2006, Society of American Archivists, hardcover