Doing Research
Our team of resident historians would be pleased to help you with your research* and genealogy questions. For more information, and applicable fees, read our Research Policy.
Submit your inquiries using the form below.
*Please note, research in the Dennison Manufacturing Company Archives is administered separately, click here to learn more.
Finding Aids
More detailed information about our archival collections is always becoming available! You can browse our growing list of finding aids below.
- Framingham’s People of Color, 1600-1800: This finding aid provides a comprehensive overview of the Framingham History Center’s collections as they pertain to the lives of 17th and 18th century Black and Indigenous persons living within and around the bounds of present-day Framingham. The first of its kind for this institution, it is a cross-collection finding aid that seeks to assist the public in learning more about Black and Indigenous persons who lived and labored in the area in varying states of freedom/unfreedom. (Last updated 08/01/2022)
- Dennison Manufacturing Company Archives, 1844-1990: Records of the Dennison Manufacturing Company, 1844-1990, document the history, financial performance, product development, marketing programs, publications and human resource management of the company. Dennison was a Framingham, Massachusetts based paper products manufacturer with leadership positions in the retailing and industrial identification systems markets and stationery products markets. In 1897, Dennison centralized its headquarters and manufacturing in Framingham and was one of Framingham’s largest employers until it merged in 1990 with Avery International to become Avery Dennison, headquartered in California. (2017). The last Dennison operation remaining in Framingham closed in 2013. With $6.6 billion in sales in 2017, Avery Dennison is a worldwide leader in adhesive technologies, display graphics, packaging materials, retail marking systems designed to engage customers, build brands and manage inventories.
- Temple Archive: The Temple Archive contains 32 boxes of archive material documenting three centuries of the extended Temple family and local Framingham history. Over 30 members of the Temple family are represented in this collection, but the two family members who are most documented in these materials are Josiah H. Temple (1815-1893) and John H. Temple (1853-1936). While much of this archive is dedicated to documenting the lives and work of the Temples, it also includes 18th and 19th century Framingham documents that have no clear relation to the Temple Family.
- Chautauqua Archive: The Chautauqua Archive documents the Chautauqua movement in Framingham. This collection consists primarily of photographs, newsletters, and programs that illustrate this institution’s focus on education and service. While this archive contains all of the Chautauqua textbooks in the Framingham History Center’s collection, other books on this subject can be found in FHC’s library.
- Freemasons, Eastern Star, and DeMolay Archive: The Freemasons, Eastern Star, and DeMolay Archive documents the Framingham chapters of these institutions. This collection consists of documents relating to the Framingham chapter of the Freemasons and its above listed appendant bodies. These documents consist primarily of bylaws, membership lists, and various other official documents, although there are also materials relating to social events, such as anniversary celebrations, receptions, and concerts.
- Millwood Hunt Club Archive: The Millwood Hunt Club Archive documents the history of the Millwood Hunt Club, which existed in Framingham for over 100 years. This archive consists in large part of photographs, both loose and in bound albums, depicting action shots of riders with their horses. The remainder of this archive comprises primarily of institutional documentation (correspondence, bylaws, reports) and publications pertaining to the Hunt and its Horse and Hound Shows.
- Libby Franck Archive: The Libby Franck Collection focuses on Franck’s work as a “Teller of Tales,” a storyteller and historical re-enactor, and especially her work from 2007-2020, when the Framingham History Center commissioned Franck to bring to life important women from Framingham’s past – reformers, suffragists, abolitionists, writers and poets (Boxes 2-6). Franck also participated in many other FHC programs for which she was a researcher, writer, performer and/or docent (Series 2, Box 6). A graduate of Wellesley College and Simmons College of Library Science, Franck worked for the Natick, MA public school system. For 24 years she was in charge of the elementary school libraries. Franck was producer, host and storyteller for the award-winning TV show “Tales from Cricket Corner” on Natick Cable for 13 years. Franck was also a leader in the New England Storytelling community as a writer, teacher, producer and performer. Franck was the founder of Outspoken Word – A Storytelling and Poetry Series which included her “Women of the Sea” programs (Series 3, Box 2). Franck had begun work on two new programs regarding the sculptor Meta Warrick Fuller and Katharine Wright, the sister of Wilbur and Orville Wright (Series 4, Box 1). At the time of her death, Franck had hoped to bring Framingham’s Meta Warrick Fuller “to life.”