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History : Boston and New England

What are primary sources?

Primary sources are first-hand sources created at the time of a particular event or period.

Finding archives with sources on your topic:

Primary sources can be found online, reproduced in printed books, or in their original form in archival collections.  To find out which American archives have manuscripts and records on your topic, search ArchiveGrid.  See our ArchiveGrid tutorial.

Search ArchiveGrid

New England Newspapers

Colonial and Early American

Twentieth Century

Need more newspapers?  Backfiles of the Cape Cod Times, Worcester Telegram, Lowell Sun and much more, are available online to residents, employees and property owners in Massachusetts on Gale OneFile:News through the Boston Public Library (BPL).  Don't have a BPL login?  Learn how to sign up here. 

A sampling of local history primary sources

Getting started with the history of Boston? Check out the Boston Public Library's Guide to Boston History

Of special interest:

Globe Spotlight: Boston. Racism. Image. Reality

spotlightBoston globe

Sportlight series: racism in Boston

Published in December 2017, in installments:

  1. Image and reality [Boston Globe site] [Proquest]
  2. Seaport [Boston Globe site] [Proquest]
  3. Hospitals [Boston Globe site] [Proquest]
  4. Colleges [Boston Globe site] [Proquest]
  5. Sports [Boston Globe site] [Proquest]
  6. Power [Boston Globe site] [Proquest]
  7. Solutions [Boston Globe site] [Proquest]

Boston Globe site: available with a personal subscription. (learn more)

Proquest: access with myNortheastern username and password

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