We have a new site for our special collections! For the most complete and up-to-date catalog of our materials, please visit https://archives.forbeslibrary.org/.
The Hampshire Room for Special Collections contains thousands of images documenting local history, including images of farms, factories, shops, schools, and local residents both well known and anonymous. The Northampton image collection comprises prints, glass and film negatives, lantern slides, etchings and stereographs. Other collections include the Elbridge Kingsley, Robert Emrick and Walter Corbin Collections, and the Daily Hampshire Gazette negatives from 1954-2004.
These Images From the Archives allow you to search a portion of the library's special collections which have been digitized. If you have any questions about this collection, please contact us.
Featured Item
Coolidge family on steps of 21 Massasoit Street on Notification Day
Coolidge family - John, Grace, Calvin and Calvin Jr. on the steps
of their home at 21 Massasoit Street, Northampton, Massachusetts on
Notification Day, July 27, 1920.
Featured Collection
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was an organization of Union
veterans of the American Civil War.
Featured Exhibit
125th Anniversary exhibits
Selections from the Forbes Library Archives
In celebration of Forbes Library’s 125th anniversary year (2019), a variety of images and objects from the Library’s local history collections were featured in the Hosmer Gallery alongside the work of contemporary local artists.
These displays will be preserved as online exhibits.
January: Forbes and Calvin Coolidge
February: People at Work
March: Women of Forbes Library
April: The Gregory Wilson Postcard Collection
June: H.E Robbins handcolored wildflower prints
July: Everyday life in 1894 Northampton
August: Posters
September: Children and Education