The State Library's collection of Massachusetts city directories is one of the most heavily-used resources in the Library. The earliest volumes in our collection, dating all the way back to 1789, provide information about town residents such as names, addresses, and occupations; business listings were added later.
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| Boston-Providence railroad fee schedule, Boston directory, 1855. |
In addition to residents and business information, many city directories include lists of churches, city offices, and even railroad fees and schedules. And although the collection mainly covers Massachusetts communities, listings for border towns like Tiverton and Pawtucket in Rhode Island, and Salem and Plaistow in New Hampshire can be found in the collection.
The Massachusetts city directories were published in languages other than English, illustrating the many groups that immigrated to Massachusetts in the 19th and 20th centuries. The State Library’s collection includes city directories published in: Chinese, French, Italian, and Scandinavian (which included Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and Finnish).
By looking at the advertisements published in these volumes, researchers can also see the trends in Massachusetts industries over the years. If you would like to view some of these historical advertisements, check out our online exhibit: From Common to Uncommon: Advertisements in Massachusetts City Directories.
The publication of city directories ended in the early to mid-1980s, replaced by the telephone book and other sources.
The State Library’s collection is available in print format in our Special Collections Department. If you have any questions regarding this collection, please reach out to us via email at special.collections@mass.gov.
To see a complete list of the Library’s city directory holdings, please visit City Directories and Voting Lists in the Collections of the State Library of Massachusetts.
Silvia Mejia
Special Collections Librarian
