Springfield, Massachusetts
Year Incorporated
As a Town: 1635
As a city: 1852

Springfield, MA


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City Clerk
City Hall
36 Court St.
Springfield, MA 01103
413-787-6094
413-787-7719 fax



On-Site Resources


Coming soon! — A brief historic profile of Springfield,
extracted from Volume II of History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, by Louis H. Everts, 1879. Topics include geographical, natural features, early settlement, military, list of selectmen and town clerks, churches, schools, burial-places, industries, Springfield's military record in the Rebellion.

Before the Statue of The Puritan (In Merrick Square, Springfield.)
Poem by F. Whitmore, originally published in New England Magazine, 1900. Accompanied by a photograph of the statue.

Springfield, Massachusetts.
Written in 1894 by Clarence E. Blake, Ph.D.,   Concise (twenty-five pages) history of the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. Originally published in New England Magazine — nicely illustrated.

History of the "Old High School" on School Street From 1828 to 1840 & History of the Seminary, On Maple Street, Established in 1832.
Written in 1890 by Charles Wells Chapin,  Very nice discussion of old school days, as well as biographical sketches for some 400 students (and teachers) from these schools. While some of the biographical data is minimal, this still provides some clues on earlier Springfield scholars, including the spouses for many of the female seminary students. Time span for this resource focuses on high school aged students from 1832-1843, dates of birth likely spanning the years 1815-26.

Tech Tiger.
The 1930 school yearbook for the Springfield Technical High School. About 215 featured graduating seniors plus over a thousand additional names and street addresses for the lower classmen in the school. Also sports and interesting school activities, such as the Banjo, Riding and Model Airplane Clubs. D.O.B. is estimated to be around 1913.

Manufacturing Muskets at the U.S. Armory, Springfield, Massachusetts.
From, Harper's Weekly, a popular illustrated newspaper, published in 1861. Essentially a graphic depiction of various jobs associated with the production of muskets, but interesting, especially is you have Civil War era ancestors who may have been employed at the Armory or just a special interest in that time.

The Oriole, Volume Thirteen, 1916.
The annual publication of the Junior Class of the Technical High School, Springfield, Massachusetts. Nice class annual with individual photos, nicknames, street addresses and high school activities. Date of birth for these students about 1899. About 100 students plus sports photos and some clubs you will never see in schools today such as the Rifle Club.

Members of the First Church of Christ, Springfield, Mass., 1885.
List of nearly eight hundred names transcribed from the 1885 publication "Manual of the First Church of Christ" compiled by Theo. W. Ellis. This list is for the year 1885 only, earlier years will be added as time permits.

The Caduceus, Yearbook, High School of Commerce, 1935.
Names, street addresses and photographs of nearly 500 seniors for the classes graduating in January and June 1935. Also a faculty list (names and street addresses) and a tribute to Commerce founder Carlos Bent Ellis.

The Pnyx, Yearbook, Springfield High School, 1904.
No individual photos, however there are approximately 900 student names and street addresses for the classes of 1904-07. Some excellent group activity photos, including the Girls' Basketball team for 1904 -- who apparently won the Western Massachusetts championship for that year.

Orpheus Club of Springfield.
Souvenir Program of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Orpheus Club of Springfield, 1873-1923. History, Membership Roster, Directors & Musicians.

The Pnalka, 1912 Springfield, yearbook for Central High School.
It is a fascinating book because it is certainly one of the earliest yearsbooks I have ever seen with individual photographs of the senior class.   All the images of the senior class along with information such as address, course of study, and club interests/activities. Exceptional photographs!

History of Christ Church Parish, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1817 - 1927.
Christ Church is Espicopalian and was responsible for the founding of many other area Episcopal churches. This book has been reproduced completely along with a surname index. This 250 page volume has many photographs, much about the rectors as well as descriptions of church organizations. I particularly like the detail that describes the various church memorials — including windows — dedicated to former rectors and parishioners.

Catholic Cemeteries — Diocese of Springfield, Mass.
A Listing of all cemeteries in the Diocese of Springfield, which includes Hampden, Hampshire, Berkshire and Franklin Counties.

Postcards of Springfield, MA
A selection of vintage postcards sepicting a variety of interesting scenes from Springfield.


Off-Site Links & Resources


Official Springfield site.

Springfield Community Preservation

Springfield Community Profile (PDF Format), from Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.

Commonwealth Community Profile & Links related to the town including addresses of libraries.

Springfield, MA, 1790 Census Data



Hampden County
Western Mass History & Genealogy

Contents ©Laurel O'Donnell, all rights reserved.
Last Update 25 January 2012