Thursday, June 10, 2010

Town Reports

Annual reports of the Massachusetts towns are submitted to the State Library by law. Chapter 40, section 50 of the Massachusetts General Laws require towns to submit their reports.

The State Library has a meaningful collection of these reports. The holdings for each town can be found at www.mass.gov/lib. Scroll down to Research State and Local History, then click on Local Documents and Resources. Our holdings, by town, are delineated.

Town reports have varying information in them. Generally included are the names of town leaders, actions of town meetings, reports of town departments and committees, suggested/amended by-laws and zoning rules. The reports are a treasure trove of facts and figures that relate to the history of the community. Genealogists often use the reports for specific information.

The Reference Department

image: Plymouth town seal