House History Guide for Plainville, Massachusetts

This page contains most of the resources you will need to research the history of your house. If you are new to house history research, please visit the Get Started section. For a quick overview of the process visit 10 Steps to Researching the History of Your House.

Establishment

Plainville was formed quite late, in 1905 from the town of Wrentham. Please keep this in mind as you are doing your research. For many local records such as vital records and maps you will need to look in Wrentham records prior to 1905.

Land Records / Deed Research

Deeds are found at the county level in Massachusetts. Plainville is in Norfolk County. Deeds for Plainville, Massachusetts are available online in two places:

  1. The Norfolk County, Massachusetts Registry of Deeds (1793 – present)
  2. FamilySearch.org (1793-1900) [access with free account] Search for the town of Wrentham.

You can also visit the Registry of Deeds in person.

Norfolk County Registry of Deeds
649 High Street, Dedham, MA 02026
(781) 461-6101

Norfolk County was formed in 1793. The first deed recorded in Norfolk County is dated September 24, 1793. If your house was built before 1794, then you will need to look for the older deeds in the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds.

Census Records (and MA State Census Records)

The most common census records are the US Federal Census Records but Massachusetts also has state census records. Census records help you discover the families that lived in your house. Federal census records are available every 10 years from 1790 to 1950 with the exception of 1890.

U.S Federal Census Records (1790-1950)

Available from:

Massachusetts State Census Records (1855 & 1865)

Available from:

Vital Records

Vital records provide the details about births, marriages and deaths for the people who previously lived in your house.

Find Plainville, MA Vital Records Online:

Probate Records

Probate records for the town of Plainville are found in Norfolk County, Massachusetts Probate Court records which are available both online and in-person.

In-person
Norfolk County Probate Court
35 Shawmut Rd, Canton, MA 02021
(781) 830-1200
Check website for hours

Online

Preservation Publications

The Massachusetts Historical Commission provides access to historic building surveys at is website MACRIS: Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System (MACRIS). Once at the site, search specifically by town. You can refine by address and historic name.

Maps

Plainville specific maps (reminder that Plainville was part of Wrentham prior to 1905):

Maps are also available online from many website such as:

City Directories & Residents Lists

City Directories were typically published every year. Because of that they are great for filling in the gaps between the 10 year spread of census records. They are also helpful to identify when people move from place to place.

City Directories are available online at the major database sites like Ancestry.com ($), MyHeritage.com ($) and FamilySearch.org. They are also found in local libraries and archives.

Tax Records

Tax records provide the value of property through the years. These can be a great indicator of when changes were made to a property. Check your local library, Town Hall or Archive.org for Town Annual Reports which contain the tax records.

Newspapers

Many old newspapers are available online through Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com, AmericanAncestors.org, GenealogyBank.com, Newspapers.com, OldNews.com, the Boston Public Library, the American Antiquarian Society (Worcester, MA), Community History Archives. The Ancestor Hunt website is also great for finding more newspaper resources.

Cemetery Information

Plainville, Massachusetts cemeteries:

  • New Plainville Cemetery (founded in 1851)
  • Old South Burial Ground (founded in 1808)
  • Shepardville Cemetery (founded in 1730)

Cemetery Information

Photos and Miscellaneous Items

Further Reading

Bowmar, John M. A Brief History of the Town of Plainville, Massachusetts. 1980. Available a the Plainville Public Library.

Flanagan, Mark. A Pictorial History of the Attleboros: Mmore than 300 photos from Attleboro, North Attleborough, Norton, Mansfield, & Plainville. Vancouver, WA: Pediment Publishing, 2002.

Friend, Esther MacNeill. Living Happily in Plainville in Spite of the Great Depression (1920-1939). Lewes, DE: Esther MacNeill Friend, 2009

Friend, Esther MacNeill. Living Happily- in the Great Depression and Beyond. Middletown, DE: Create Space, 2015.

Hurd, D. Hamilton, History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts. Philadelphia: J.W. Lewis & Co., 1884. Available at Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/historyofnorfolk00hurd

Plante, Bradley Arthur. Adventures of a Kid from Bacon Square. Hampstead, MD: Old Line Publishing, 2013.

Tedesco, James B. Postcard History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts. JBT Publishing, 2013.

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