General historical resources available online:

• Internet Archive: High School Yearbooks
• Internet Archive: Town of Southbridge Annual Reports / School Committee Reports (1856-2003)
  • Reports for 2016 onward can be found on the Town's website
  • [No published reports available 2004-2015]
• Digital Commonwealth: Historical Photographs
  • This link goes directly to JEL's own institutional collection. For more results, search the Digital Commonwealth as a whole for 'Southbridge' to see items that belong to other institutions.
• Southbridge Journal, 1861-1900
  • Other Southbridge newspapers are available in the library on microfilm:
    • Southbridge Herald: Jan. 1902 - Mar. 7, 1929
    • Southbridge Press: Oct. 1853 - May 1858; Jan. 1904 - Dec. 1940
    • Southbridge News: Aug. 27, 1923 - Present
• Plimpton, Moses History of Southbridge Southbridge, Journal Steam Book Print, 1882
• Crane, Ellery Bicknell History of Worcester County Massachusetts (Index) (Vol 2) (Vol 3), New York, Chicago, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1924
• Davis, George Historical Sketch of Sturbridge and Southbridge West Brookfield, Mass, Press of O.S. Cooke, 1856
• Gatineau, Felix Histoire des Franco-Americains de Southbridge Framingham, Mass, Lakeview Press, 1919
• Gatineau, Felix and Blood, Elizabeth, "History of the Franco-Americans of Southbridge, Massachusetts" (2020). French-Canadian Heritage Collection. 3.
• Chase, Levi - History of Southbridge. Extracted from Hurd, D. Hamilton The History of Worcester County, Massachusetts v.2 Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & Co., 1889
• Marvin, Rev. Abijah - Southbridge. p. 295-313 in History of Worcester County v.2 Boston, C.F. Jewett & Co., 1879
• Quinabaug Historical Society Leaflets. Presented as lectures to the members 1890s to 1917. vols 1&2  vol 3  Index and Table of Contents
• Souvenir of Southbridge : reference book of Southbridge, Part 1 Part 2 published Southbridge, Mass by Geo Grant, 1898
• Southbridge: A Souvenir. Published by the Ladies' Circle and Y.P.C.U. of the First Universalist Society of Southbridge, Massachusetts. 1899.
• Data from the United States Census Bureau (enter zip code 01550 into the search box)
• Worcester, Mass. Board of Trade. "The Worcester & Southbridge Street Railway," from The Worcester Magazine, 5 (1903): 193-207.
• Veteran Burials in Southbridge - List of Veterans buried at Oak Ridge, Morse Neighborhood, & Pratt Cemeteries. Includes Veterans of Revolutionary War, Civil War, Spanish American War, and World War I.
• Dedication - Southbridge World War Memorial Park (1938)
• Dick Whitney's Southbridge History Website contains many historical photos of Southbridge, oral and written histories from residents, and info on major events.
• Optical Heritage Museum - Located on Crane Street in Southbridge, the museum houses one of the largest collections of spectacle frames and Ophthalmic Optical items in the world.
• MACRIS - Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System. Provides photographs and historical information on historic properties throughout the state.
• National Register of Historic Places - Southbridge Multiple Resource Area
• Town of Southbridge Master Plan (2013)
• Southbridge Community Snapshot from CMRPC
• Southbridge Historical Commission
• Massachusetts Historical Commission
• History Hub

---

Historical maps available online:

The first three maps are shared courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library.

• Plan of the Towns of Sturbridge and Southbridge (1870, F.W. Beers)
• View of Southbridge, Mass., Center & Globe Village (1878, J.L. Galt & Co.)
• Map of the Town of Southbridge, Mass. (1878, F.W. Beers)
• Bird's Eye View Map of Southbridge (1892, O.H. Bailey & Co.)
• Plan of Southbridge (1831, Barlow Freeman)
• Part of the Town of Southbridge, Worcester Co. (1898, L.J. Richards & Co.)
• Area Towns (1898, L.J. Richards & Co.)
• Towns of Charlton, Sturbridge, Southbridge & Dudley (1898, L.J. Richards & Co.)
• Historic US Geological Survey Maps
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (February 1888)
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (January 1894)
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (January 1899)
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (February 1904)
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (May 1911)
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (September 1918)
• Hamilton Woolen Co. "Lower Mill" Insurance Map (1919)
• 2021 Color Aerial Imagery Basemap
• AO Southbridge Facilities Interactive Map
• GIS/Online Mapping

---

Bibliography of items available at the Jacob Edwards Library:

• Davis, George Historical Sketch of Sturbridge and Southbridge West Brookfield, Mass, Press of O. S. Cooke, 1856
• Ammidown, Holmes Historical Collections New York, Published by the Author, Vol. 2, 1874.
• Plimpton, Moses History of Southbridge Southbridge, Journal Steam Book Print, 1882
• Chase, Levi B., "Southbridge" Extracted from: The History of Worcester County by Hurd Vol.2, 1889
• Quinabaug Historical Society Leaflets 3 vols. Presented as lectures to the members 1890s to 1917.
• Eddy, Charles W., Southbridge: Illustrated with Pen & Camera Ware, Mass, 1886.
• Clemence, Dorothy K., The History of Old Southbridge
• Gillon, Edmund, V. Jr. A New England Town in Early Photographs 149 Illustrations of Southbridge. New York, Dover Publications, 1976
• Woodford, Eileen Inventory of the Cultural Resources of Southbridge, Massachusetts Southbridge Historical Commission, 1984 (available online via MACRIS, above)
• Moore, John and Steven Brady Southbridge: Images of America Charleston, SC, Arcadia Press, 2001
• Memories of Southbridge, 2002 Video of Southbridge: recording oral histories, archival photographs and 8mm film
• Archives of the Southbridge Evening News, The Evening News, Southbridge Journal and Southbridge Press are available on microfilm

You may also browse our online catalog. This link will take you directly to a search on Southbridge history.

Please note that the Ammidown History Room is not publicly accessible. Library staff will retrieve the specific items from the Ammidown Room for patron use in the reference area of the library. Patrons will need photo identification and are asked to sign in at the Circulation Desk to use materials from the Ammidown Room. Decisions to photocopy Ammidown materials will be made by the staff based on the condition and conservation needs of the material.

---

Topic-specific online resources:

• Chase - Early Indian Trails through Tantiusque
• Chase - Echoes of Memory
• Chase - Interpretation of Woodward's and Saffrey's Map
• Dedication of World War Memorial Park
• History of the Southbridge Fire Department
• Morse - The Morse Neighborhood of Southbridge
• Sandler - History of the Fiber-Optic Industry
• JEL Flickr account

---

"Old Buildings and Old Connections" presentation by Megan Garlie:

• YouTube video
• Bibliography

---

Videos:

• Eugene Livernois 8mm digitized home movies donated by the Daniel Fournier Family. 
  Digitization completed by East Coast Video.
  • 1937 Summer - Webster Lake
  • 1938 Southbridge Parades
  • 1938 Hurricane and Flood
  • 1939 Hobby Show - Soapbox Derby
  • 1941 Washington DC / Atlantic City
  • 1945 Sports
  • 1963 Livernois Family Album
  • 1968 Hampton Beach / McNally Wedding
• Southbridge Film 1966 - Portrait of a Town
• 1929 Sacred Heart / Felix Gatineau / Parade / Strand Theatre (without music)
  Digitization completed by George Eastman Museum and generously funded by Savers Bank, Cornerstone Bank, and Southbridge Historical Commission.
• 1929 Sacred Heart / Felix Gatineau / Parade / Strand Theatre (with music)
  Digitization completed by George Eastman Museum and generously funded by Savers Bank, Cornerstone Bank, and Southbridge Historical Commission.
• Dedication of WWI Memorial

---