The Emerson Photos
Paesiello Emerson
This project, Historic Images of Longmeadow, was funded by a grant from the Community Preservation Act in order to preserve a large number of glass plate negatives of historic images that are owned by the Longmeadow Historical Society. These images, which were stored in the basement of the Storrs House, were taken by Paesiello Emerson, a resident of Longmeadow, during the period from 1900 to his death in 1927. Most of the glass plate negatives were in satisfactory condition but some were beginning to deteriorate. In order to preserve these historic images, the glass negatives were digitally scanned and then received some minor retouching to improve the quality.
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As part of the Digital Commonwealth project, our large collection of Emerson glass plate negatives were scanned at high resolution by the Boston Public Library. The large majority of these photos were taken in Longmeadow but some of them were taken in other Massachusetts communities including Spencer, Holyoke, Springfield, Framingham, and East Brookfield. The entire collection of 1500+ Emerson photos are now online on the Digital Commonwealth project website.
Longmeadow Historical Town Records
Town Records, Marriage and Church Records, Birth and Death Records from the town of Longmeadow from 1675 - 1844. These records are available on the library website.
Longmeadow Annual Town Reports 1855-Present
Annual town reports contain information related to the financial and civic well being of the town. This collection contains all reports from 1855 to the present.
The Writings of Stephen Williams
Stephen William's Diary: The Diary includes the reflections of Reverend Stephen Williams who was the first minister of the First Church of Christ in Longmeadow. The Diary covers the time period from 1716, when Stephen Williams became Longmeadow’s first minister, until his death in 1782 and is available on the library website.
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What Befell Stephen Williams in his Captivity: Stephen Williams was only 11 years old when Deerfield, MA was raided by the French and Native Americans in 1704. He and his other family members were forced to march to northern Vermont. Shortly after his return 1½ years later, he wrote this account of his captivity. This is hosted on the Pocumtuck Valley Historical Museum's website.
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Longmeadow Historical Society Contributions to the Internet Archive
This collection contains documents digitized by the Boston Public Library as part of the Digital Commonwealth Project and is hosted on the Internet Archive. The collection features, ledgers, daybooks, and even the journal of a seaman.
