Special Collections New Acquisition: The Last 240-Member House

A segment of the 52-inch-wide photograph taken inside the House Chamber.

Special Collections recently received a piece of Massachusetts General Court history: a photograph of the last 240-member House of Representatives. Former Representative Karen Swanson graciously donated the photograph, which was taken inside the House Chamber during the 170th Legislative Session (1977-1978) and identifies members in an index by their seated location.

In June 1973, the Massachusetts legislature voted 166-93 to cut the size of the House by one third, following five years of battling on the subject. As a result, the issue was put to the voters on the 1974 state ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, where it won overwhelming approval. At the time of the vote, the Massachusetts House of Representatives was the second largest in the nation. As a result of the amendment, the House has consisted of 160 members since 1979.

For more information about Massachusetts legislative history, check out this guide compiled by State Library staff; also check out State Legislators’ Papers Collections at the State Library.


Alyssa Persson
Processing Archivist