Browse Exhibits (11 total)

The town of Wakefield, Massachusetts is a community of 24,664 residents approximately 10 miles north of Boston. Wakefield was settled as Lynn Village in 1638 and was incorporated as Wakefield in 1868. Wakefield covers 7.9 square miles and has two bodies of water: Lake Quannapowitt and Crystal Lake. Wakefield has an open town meeting and is governed by an elected Board of Selectmen.

 

Explore Wakefield by topic or browse the Beebe Memorial Library's collections.

Lynn was settled by colonists from the New England Company in Salem in 1629 on land that originally included what is today Swampscott, Nahant, Lynnfield and Saugus. Early settlers were farmers and fishermen. During the late 1700's, Lynn developed the first leather tannery in the country by the nineteenth century had become a major shoe manufacturer, known as "the ladies's shoe center of the world." The population grew with the influx of shoe industry workers and Lynn became a city in 1850.

Lynn's development as an industrial center was paralleled by its emergence as a summer vacation destination during the 19th century. Located just nine miles north of Boston, Lynn was the perfect location for the summer estates of the well-to-do citizens of Boston.

Lynn, one of the most diverse cities in Essex County, is also the largest, with a population of more than 89,000. The Lynn Public Library has a large and varied collection of historic images divided among several collections. These images provide a fascinating look at Lynn during the early twentieth century. Browse one of these collections or search by topic.

The area now known as Peabody was settled in 1626 as part of Salem. It was later separated from Salem and incorporated as part of Danvers. In 1855, Peabody split from Danvers to become South Danvers, but its name was changed in 1868 in honor of local philanthropist, George Peabody. Like many local communities, Peabody was initially an agricultural town, but developed into an industrial center. Peabody's main industry was leather tanning, which remained an important part of its economy into the latter part of the twentieth century.

The Peabody Institute's collections include historic glass plate photographs, images from the Boston Mat Leather Company, as well as images from the Oak Knoll Estate, which was designed by Samuel McIntire and stood on the land now occupied by the North Shore Mall. Explore Peabody by browsing one of these collections or select a specific topic.

Reading was incorporated as three parishes on June 10th, 1644, taking its name from Reading, England. The first parish, later known as South Reading, became Wakefield in 1868. A special grant in 1651 added land north of the Ipswich River to the Town of Reading. This area in 1853 became the separate Town of North Reading. During its early years, the area which is currently the Town of Reading, was known as Wood End, or Third Parish. The Town of Reading, population 23,708, covers 25.7 square miles. Reading voted in Home Rule Charter in March of 1986. This form of government focuses the policy and decision making function in a very few elected boards and committees, and provided for the creation of the Town Manager position to be responsible for day to day operations of the local government.

Please select a collection to explore the Reading Public Library's digital history resources or search by topic.

In 1830 nearly 100 Gloucester residents met and formed the Gloucester Lyceum. The purpose of the organization was to bring community members together to participate in lectures and debates which fostered ideas and information. The Lyceum inevitably led to the formation of a library. Through the generous donations of Samuel Sawyer, a local businessman and philanthropist, the library collections and building were acquired. The Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library is the literary and cultural center of the city. The library has a collection of over 100,000 items, a wide variety of programs and cultural events, and a friendly, service-oriented staff. The library reaches near and far, both in the library and with our wireless internet access, online databases, and digital collections.

 

Explore Gloucester and Cape Ann by topic or browse the Sawyer Free Library's collections.