Springfield-History.com

Researching Your House

If we live in old houses we often become curious who lived here before, when they lived here and general things about the history of our homes, even early pictures of our houses.

In the early 1980’s. Ed Lonergan of the local history department of the Library and Museums Association wrote a very fine short book called “A Guide to researching Springfield Buildings” on how to research your building in Springfield. The book is still very accurate and usable and is a great resource for researching the history of your home.

The book can be found in it’s entirety on the Springfield Preservation Trust’s website which is springfieldpreservationtrust.org . Go to the website, resources section, and go down to books on line.

The Springfield Preservation Trust is Springfield’s non-profit Historic Preservation organization. It is dedicated to preserving Springfield’s built environment and its historical buildings. The Trust has been serving Springfield since 1972. Its website tells about current projects and events as well as a list of contractors who have been recommended by members. There are many links to other Preservation and historical organizations and wbsites in the area.

Any questions about Springfield, historic preservation or restoration can be directed to the Trust. There is also a very comprehensive Resource Library for doing restoration research that is available by appointment.