Sturgis Library’s archival collections are housed in a climate-controlled archival storage room. The collection includes extremely rare and one-of-a-kind documents including over 2,000 early deeds from Cape Cod towns beginning in the 1620s, ships logs, whaling journals, manuscripts, family histories, diaries, letters and correspondence, cemetery records, photographs, historical documents, maps and charts, as well as the collection of personal and research papers of author and historian Henry Crocker Kittredge.
Historical materials related to the founding and development of the Sturgis Library are also kept here, as are original catalogs of the Library. To see the findings aids for our archival collections, click on the links below. The collections are available for in-library use or by contacting us at director@sturgislibrary.org. Fragile materials may have photocopying restrictions. For further information, please contact the Library directly at (508) 362-6636 or email director@sturgislibrary.org.
You can search the archives by name and subject using the CLAMS online catalog, or click on the finding aids below to find all the hidden treasures in our special collections.
In addition to the numbered finding aids below, we also have our map and deed collection:
- Map Collection
- Stanley Smith Deed Collection Online Index and Archive
- Stanley Smith Deed Collection Original Deeds
Sturgis Library Archives Finding Aids
- Lothropp Family Foundation Collection
- MS. 1: Henry Crocker Kittredge Maritime Collection
- MS. 2: Edes–Barker Family Papers
- MS. 3: Captain Joseph Lincoln Papers
- MS. 4: William Rotch Papers
- MS. 5: Captain Nehemiah Smith Collection
- MS. 6: Schooner Colin C. Baker Papers
- MS. 7: Brooks Family Papers
- MS. 8: Walter E. Babbitt Research Collection 1745-1977
- MS. 9: Donald G. and Annabel J. Trayser Papers
- MS. 10: Percy Fielitz Rex Collection
- MS. 11: Bessie B. Bliven Papers
- MS. 12: Mitchell Collection 1762 – 1865
- MS. 13: John D.W. Bodfish Papers
- MS. 14: Joseph C. Lincoln Collection
- MS. 15: Knowles – Thacher Papers
- MS. 16: George L. Weekes Papers (Chase Family of Harwich)
- MS. 17: Charles L. Bassett Papers
- MS. 18: Benjamin Harrison Photograph Collection
- MS. 19: Lewis Doane Papers
- MS. 20: William Sturgis Family Papers
- MS. 21: Deaccessioned
- MS. 22: Deaccessioned
- MS. 23: Linnell Family Genealogical Collection
- MS. 24: Priscilla Dean Research Notes on Fieldstone Hall and “Tawasentha,” the Crosby Mansion, Brewster, Massachusetts
- MS. 25: Abner and Abigail Hopkins Family Correspondence
- MS. 26: Frederick Matthews Collection
- MS. 27: Stanley Smith Papers
- MS. 28: Jonathan Higgins Legal Papers
- MS. 29: Samuel D. Hannah Papers
- MS. 30: Evelyn Lawson Theater Archives
- MS. 31: Sturgis Library Records
- MS. 32: Photographic Postcards of Barnstable
- MS. 33: Gustavus A. Hinckley Photographs of Barnstable
- MS. 34: W. R. Bascome Photographs of Barnstable
- MS. 35: Hinckley Family Photographic Album
- MS. 36: Lothrop Family Photographic Albums
- MS. 37: Diary of an Evangelical Minister
- MS. 38: Diary of a Nantucket Woman (Mary Coffin?)
- MS. 39: Pension Letters [Revolutionary War & War of 1812]
- MS. 40: Winslow Hall Poem on the Revolutionary War
- MS. 41: Stephen Smith Records [Furniture Maker]
- MS. 42: Quahauging Cape Cod’s Own
- MS. 43: Mary K. Cobb Collection
- MS. 44: Lowell Family Photographic Album
- MS. 45: Bearse Family Land Documents
- MS. 46: Child/Wright/Brown/Starr Family Genealogy Notes
- MS. 47: Deaccessioned
- MS. 48: Cobb Family Papers, 1872, 1894-1904
- MS. 49: Mary Sturgis Correspondence
- MS. 50: Asa Jones Collection, 1845-1892
- MS. 51: Daniel C. Bacon [Biography]
- MS. 52: W Sears Nickerson : Some Lower Cape Indians
- MS. 53: John Bent Civil War Diary
- MS. 54: Charles C. Ewer Civil War Diary
- MS. 55: Charge to Grand Jury, Barnstable, 1802
- MS. 56: Kenelm Winslow Letter from Jonathan Russell, 1744
- MS. 57: Cape Cod Association Pamphlets
- MS. 58: Harwich, Massachusetts Deeds
- MS. 59: Vessel Property, Dennis, Massachusetts, 1871
- MS. 60: Deaccessioned
- MS. 61: Highland House Hotel Register, Truro
- MS. 62: Luther Hinckley Account Book
- MS. 63: Samuel Rider Daybooks
- MS. 64: Nathaniel Covill and Richard Higgins Genealogies
- MS. 65: John Davis Will and Account Book
- MS. 66: Ebenezer S. Whittemore Diaries, 1866-1890
- MS. 67: Art Ross Deed Collection, 1793-1888
- MS. 68: Diary of Susie Young, 1875
- MS. 69: Diary of Frank Mello, 1945-46
- MS. 70: Collection of Ships Logs, Journals, Pier Company’s Ledgers, and Correspondence
- MS. 71: Manuscript for the William Barstow Family
- MS. 72: Horse and Buggy Days on Old Cape Cod by Hattie Blossom Fritze
- MS. 73: Bacon Family Collection of Deeds
- MS. 74: Joseph Otis, Collector of Taxes for the District of Barnstable — Document Collection
- MS. 75: Historic Documents Collection
- MS. 76: Cape Cod Postcard Collection
- MS. 77: Bassett/Fisher Family Papers
- MS. 78: Garden Grubs of Barnstable Records
- MS. 79: Barnstable Woman’s Club Collection, 1922-1963
- MS. 80: Lothrop Collection Manuscripts
- MS. 81: Photographs and Images Collection
- MS. 82: Kurt Vonnegut Collection
- MS. 83: Mary Sprague Collection
- MS. 84: Mary Bundy / Sturgis / Hooper Collection
- MS. 85: Original Newspaper Collection — The Liberator
- MS. 86: Freeman Family Papers 1831-1884
- MS. 87: Second Social Library in Barnstable 1796-1807
- MS. 88: Crocker Tavern Blueprints and Letters
- MS. 89: Schooner Bloomer
- MS. 90: Account Book of Eben. Lothrop, Blacksmith
- MS. 91: F. B. Goss, Collector, District of Barnstable
- MS. 92: Cape Cod Library Club
- MS. 93: Barnstable High School
- MS. 94: Kittredge Maritime Research Center Collection
- MS. 95: Barnstable Town Library Committee Records
- MS. 96: Dave Crocker Historical Manuscript and Document Collection
- MS. 97: Barnstable County Fair Collection
- MS. 98: Expenses of the Town of Barnstable, 1859-1865
- MS. 99: D. G. and W. B. Bacon Company Account Book, 1857-1867
- MS. 100: Friends of Sturgis Library Collection
- MS. 101: Cape Cod Canal Collection
- MS. 102: Crocker Family Papers
- MS. 103: Sundial Village, Hyannis, Massachusetts : Copperplates
- MS. 104: Records of the Barnstable Masons, 1885-1908
- MS. 105: Jerauld Family Collection
- MS. 106: Family Bible Collection
- MS. 107: Shooting Record Number 4, 1881-1894
- MS. 108: Kittredge Maritime Research Center Collection, 1967-1996
- MS. 109: Swift Family Whaling Letters
- MS. 110: Records of the Unitarian Church of Barnstable
- MS. 111: Barnstable Village Civic Association (BVCA) / Barnstable Village Association (BVA) Collection
- MS. 112: Glass Plate Negative Collection
- MS. 113: Barnstable Village Brick Walk Collection
- MS. 114: Sandy Neck – Moquin Family Image and Scrapbook Collection
- MS. 115: Church & Sermon Collection
- MS. 116: Cape Cod History and Genealogy Collection, 1671-
- MS. 117: Hinckley Family Collection
- MS. 118: Cape Cod Ahoy! Special Edition with over 200 added photographs
- MS. 119: Ambrose Everett Pratt Diaries
- MS. 120: Ship Captains, Crew, and Families Photo Albums
- MS. 121: Cape Cod Trade Cards and Advertisements, 1888-
- MS. 122: Ledger of the New Bedford, Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority, 1952-1963
- MS. 123: Maritime Record Books
- MS. 124: Allen, Doane, Taylor, and Thacher Family Papers
- MS. 125: Cranberry Harvest Collection
- MS. 126: Henry Howard Autobiography
- MS. 127: Steamship Postcard Collection
- MS. 128: Mashpee Postcard Collection
- MS. 129: Camp Edwards Postcard Collection
- MS. 130: Cape Cod Canal Postcard Collection
- MS. 131: United States Lifesaving Service Postcard Collection
- MS. 132: Barnstable Postcard Collection
- MS. 133: S. B. Phinney Newspaper Scrapbooks
- MS. 134: Barnstable County Census Records 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880
- MS. 135: 4th of July Photograph Collection
- MS. 136: Hinckley, Hinkley & Heath Family Photographs
- MS. 137: Photo Album of Unknown Photographer
- MS. 138: Hyannis State Normal School / Teacher’s College Collection
- MS. 139: Marion L. Hall Photo Albums, circa 1913-1930
- MS. 140: Collection of Gravestone Rubbings
- MS. 141: Chace Family Photo Collection
- MS. 142: Great Pond Breeze, 1936-1937
- MS. 143: Cape Cod Sea Captain Letters
- MS. 144: Josiah Fish Letters
- MS. 145: Anna Merz Gravestone Rubbing Collection
- MS. 146: Lou Cataldo Collection
- MS. 147: Records of the Barnstable County Commissioners
- MS. 148: Boult Family Documents and Correspondence, 1763-1885
- MS. 149: Sturgis Library Archaeological Artifacts
- MS. 150: Financial Records of the Barnstable Comedy Club, 1935-1955
- MS. 151: Albert Einstein Library Collection
- MS. 152: Pond Village Memories
- MS. 153: Sandwich Cranberry Company Ledger
- MS. 154: Records of the Barnstable County Teacher’s Association
- MS. 155: William W. Sturgis Daybook, 1853-1863
- MS. 156: Schooner Liberty Accounts & Daybook, 1825-1828
- MS. 157: Journal of Captain Sturgis Crowell, 1865-1869
- MS. 158: Journal of the Barque E. H. Yarrington, Captain Oliver Gorham, Master, 1858
- MS. 159: Ledger of Accounts of Shipwrecks on Cape Cod, 1838-1861
- MS. 160: Certificate of Enrollment, Ship Golden Ball, 1904
- MS. 161: Charter Party Document for Schooner Harmony, 1818
- MS. 162: Account Book of Silas F. Jones, Wheelwright, 1825-1854
- MS. 163: Account Book of a Cape Cod Physician, 1864-1866
- MS. 164: Franklyn D. Berry Deed and Dcument Collection, 1849-1935
- MS. 165: Jerauld, Thayer, and Trayser Collection
- MS. 166: David Cole / Cobb Document Collection
- MS. 167: Zenas Crocker Collection
- MS. 168: Dave Crocker Personal Papers
- MS. 169: Frank Lothrop Letters, 1858-1861
- MS. 170: Booth and Husband Families Photo Album
- MS. 171: Prince Family Letters, 1715-1751
- MS. 172: Recreations in Rhyme: Poetry by Frederick William Crocker
- MS. 173: Women’s Republican Club of the Upper Cape Scrapbooks, 1969-1986
- MS. 174: Mercy Otis Warren and James Otis Memorial Committee Records, 1940-2019
- MS. 175: Cape Cod Scrapbooks
- MS. 176: Paul Swayze Keavy World War II letters, 1943-1945
- MS. 177: Barnstable Veterans Oral History Project, 1999-2003
- MS. 178: Andrea Leonard Collection
- MS. 179: Evander Fisher Family Photographs
- MS. 180: George Chipman Seabury, 1866-1951: A Scrapbook
- MS. 181: Edward Gorey Poster and Ephemera Collection
- MS. 182: Christian Camp Meeting Association (CCMA) Archives
- MS. 183: Sears/Dorr Collection
- MS. 184: Cranberry Culture on Cape Cod
- MS. 185: Capt. Matthias (Mathias) Gorham Collection
- MS. 186: Stauffer Miller Civil War Research Notes
- MS. 187: E. L. Jerauld Correspondence, 1875-1886
- MS. 188: Ancient and Rare Court Documents of Barnstable County, Massachusetts…1663-1788
- MS. 189: Diary of Susan Jones Crocker, 1880
- MS. 190: Rebellion Record of the Town of Barnstable
- MS. 191: Court Docket Book of Barnstable County, 1776-1786
- MS. 192: Nye Family of Barnstable Papers, 1807-1947
- MS. 193: Yarmouth Camp Ground Association (YCGA) Collection
- MS. 194:Barnstable High School Class of 1970