The town of Enfield, Massachusetts sent invitations across the country to former residents and natives to come celebrate its centennial July 2, 3, and 4, in 1916. The collection consists of minutes of some of the public and committee meetings held to plan the celebration; letters received by committee members, chiefly from vendors of services for such celebrations; historical sketches prepared for distribution at the event; programs of the entire celebration and sports events; the official invitation; a committee member’s badge; and news clippings.

Church that served as the social and cultural center of the town of Enfield, Massachusetts. Records include deeds, charters and other legal documents, along with the church’s articles of faith and covenant, a detailed record of parish meetings, the treasurer’s account book, the parish Trustee’s account book, the church manual, a manuscript sermon of Reverend S.G. Hitchcock, the sermons of Reverend Colton, an historical sermon celebrating the town’s centennial, and church bulletins.

Town of Enfield, Massachusetts, which was among the Western Massachusetts towns abolished in 1938 to allow the Swift River Valley to be flooded, thereby creating the Quabbin Reservoir to provide Boston with water. A graphic blueprint depiction prepared by the Metropolitan District Water Supply Commission of the lots of landholders in Enfield Village in 1930.

Fifty-one men from Enfield served in World War I. This collection consists of two dance cards from an event welcoming the soldiers back, each filled out chiefly with initials. The back cover identifies W.H. Young as Floor Director, along with five aides.

Grammar school in Enfield, Massachusetts, a town abolished in 1938 to allow the Swift River Valley to be flooded, thereby creating the Quabbin Reservoir to provide Boston with water. Includes programs of the graduation exercises held at the Town Hall in 1902, 1906, 1913, and 1914. Also contains lists of graduates, speakers, and performers.

Account books for school districts of Enfield, Massachusetts. The schools’ appropriations accounts kept by selectmen between 1816-1856 show the amount raised by the town annually for the support of the schools, and include how, when, and to whom money was disbursed. The account book for Enfield’s school district number 4, 1854-1868, includes records of the disbursement of money for teaching, boarding the teachers, supplying cord wood, making fires, and repairing the building. Also lists the names of teachers and members of the Prudential Committee (who kept the records and sometimes taught).

Account book of Selectmen of the town of Enfield, Massachusetts from when it was incorporated in 1816 to 1846. Includes expenses of the town and orders drawn for services such as ringing the bell, supporting paupers, building coffins, or providing a yard to serve as a pound. The recorded names of many townspeople represent the full spectrum of society-tradespeople, laborers, paupers, town officers, and wealthy townsmen.

1929 cookbook

Assembled by Lynnette E. Foucher, this collection consists chiefly of cookbooks produced by food companies between the 1920s-1970s. These cookbooks reflect the changing role of women in the home as well as new food trends and innovative technology. Taken together, the collection offers a glimpse into the way meal preparation changed in the U.S. during the second half of the twentieth century and how this change transformed the way we eat today.

Register for winter term 1873-1874 for School District No. 5 of Greenwich, Massachusetts. Includes list of students, attendance, headmarks, visitor records, and a few statistics all kept by teacher Ernest Howe Vaughan who later became a lawyer involved with handling claims associated with the taking of property for the Quabbin Reservoir.

Hudsonian godwit hatchlings

An ornithologist and conservationist for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Joseph A. “Archie” Hagar’s career was rooted in the generation of naturalists such as William Brewster, Edward Howe Forbush, and Arthur Cleveland Bent. Born in Lawrence, Mass., on May 13, 1896, Hagar’s undergraduate career at Harvard was interrupted by service in the First World War, after which he completed his studies at the Massachusetts Agricultural College, graduating with the class of 1921. An expert field biologist and ecologist, he was appointed State Ornithologist in the Department of Fish and Game in November 1934 serving in that position for almost twenty five years. A specialist in waterfowl and raptors, Hagar was deeply involved in early conservation efforts in New England, noted for his work on wetland conservation and for linking the use of DDT with eggshell thinning in peregrine falcons, and he was famously at the center of a dispute with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the design of the Parker River Wildlife Refuge. Never a prolific writer, he was an active member of the American Ornithological Union, the Nuttall Ornithological Club, the Wildlife Society, and other professional organizations, and after retirement, he was specially cited for his work in waterfowl conservation by Ducks Unlimited. Active until late in life, he died at home in Marshfield Hills on Dec. 17, 1989.

The Hagar Papers are a deep and valuable resource for the study of New England birds and the growth of modern conservation biology. With abundant professional correspondence, field notes on shorebirds and raptors, and drafts of articles, the collection documents the full range of Hagar’s activities as State Ornithologist, including a particularly thick run of material for the controvery over the Parker River Wildlife Refuge. Hagar also acquired a set of field notes, 1897-1921, from the Harvard ornithologist John E. Thayer.