House History Guide for Southbridge, 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. These guides are also great for local historians and genealogists.

Establishment

Southbridge was formed in 1816 from the towns of Charlton, Dudley and Sturbridge. The area was originally settled in 1730.

Land Records / Deed Research

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

  1. The Worcester County, Massachusetts Registry of Deeds (1731 – present)
  2. FamilySearch.org (1731-1865) [access with free account]

All Worcester County deeds are available online. If you visit the Worcester Registry of Deeds in person, you will only have access to the deeds on computers. They no longer provide access to the deed books.

Worcester County Registry of Deeds
90 Front Street, Worcester, MA 01608, Suite C201
(508) 368-7000

Worcester County was formed in 1731. If your house was built before 1731, then you will need to look for the older deeds in the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds or the Middlesex 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:

Agriculture and Manufacturing Censuses 1850-1880

These were called Federal Census Non-Population Schedules. They provided detailed descriptions of farms and manufacturing businesses. These are available on Ancestry.com ($).

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 Southbridge, MA Vital Records Online:

Probate Records

Probate records for the town of Southbridge are found in Worcester County, Massachusetts Probate Court records (1731-present) which are available both online and in-person.

In-person
Worcester County Probate Court
225 Main Street, Worcester, MA 02021 01608
(508) 831-2200
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

Historic maps of Southbridge:

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

Southbridge, Massachusetts cemeteries:

  • Morse Cemetery
  • New Notre Dame Cemetery
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
  • Old Notre Dame Cemetery
  • Saint George Cemetery
  • Saint Hedwig Cemetery
  • Saint Marys Cemeteryy

Cemetery Information

Local Resources

Further Reading

Bllod, Elizabeth, translator. History of the Franco-Americans of Southbridge, Massachusetts. Franklin, Mass. : Via Appia Press, 2018.

Clemence, Dorothy K. The History of Old Southbridge. Manuscript.

Davis, George. A Historical Sketch of Sturbridge and Southbridge. West Brookfield, Mass.: Press of O.S. Cooke and Co., 1856. Available at Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/historicalsketch03davis

Geers, George L., Linda Daniels, and Donna Silverberg. Southbridge: Its History and Voices. Southbridge, Mass. : The News, 1991.

Hurd, D. Hamilton, History of Worcester County, Massachusetts: with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men.. Philadelphia: J.W. Lewis & Co., 1889. Available at Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/historyofworcest02hurd/page/n3/mode/2up

Kavanagh, Arthur J. On the History of the Towns of Charlton and Southbridge, Massachusetts. Charlton Historical Society, 1967.

Mrs. Litchfield’s Scrapbook. 1862. Available at Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/mrslitchfieldssc00litc/mode/2up

Nason, Rev. Elias. A Gazetteer of the State of Massachusetts. Boston: B. Russell, 1890. Available at Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/gazetteerofstate00naso/page/n5/mode/2up

Plimpton, Moses. History of Southbridge. Southbridge, MA: Journal Steam Book Print: 1882. Available at Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/historyofsouthbr00plim/page/n7/mode/2up

Southbridge Historical Society, John Moore and Steven Brady. Southbridge (Images of America series). Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2001.

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