In our attempt to offer the many resources available on the history of Plainfield we are including the following links. While we have worked hard to offer the most historically accurate resources available to us, some of the resources are written by individuals or organizations that represents their own historical perspective or memories and should be taken as so.
Online Resources
- Memoirs of Howard N. Hathaway, Plainfield MA, 1970 – first hand memoires of Plainfield in the early to mid-20th century.
- Plainfield by Priscilla C. Allen and Arvilla L. Dyer Edited by Nancy E. Allen
- History of the town of Plainfield, Hampshire County, Mass., from its settlement to 1891, including a genealogical history of twenty three of the original settlers and their descendants, with anecdotes and sketches (1891) by Charles N. Dyer Library of Congress – Digital Collections
- Topographical Description and Historical Sketch of Plainfield, In Hampshire County, Massachusestts, May 1834 by Jacob Porter Library of Congress – Digital Collections
- History of the Town of Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, From its First Settlement by Benjamin Hobart Library of Congress – Digital Collections
- History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater, in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Including an Extensive Family Register by Nahum Mitchell Library of Congress – Digital Collections
- Sketches and directory of the town of Cummington, Massachusetts by H. Elmer Miller Library of Congress – Digital Collection
- Historical Sketch of Plainfield – Historical Collections Relating to the History and Antiquities of Every town in Massachusetts with Geographical Descriptions.By John Warner Barber. Worcester Published by Warren Lazell. 1848
- Cellar Holes by Priscilla Allen – a short primer on local cellar holes.
- How Old is My House? by Priscilla Allen – a primer on how to begin the process of dating your old house – the first page of this pdf is blank so keep scrolling.
- The Romances of a Country Doctor A Paper Read by The Country Doctor’s Grand-Daughter Miss Clara Hudson at the Annual Meeting of the Northampton Historical Society at The Unitarian Church, Northampton, MA, Tuesday Afternoon, October 7, 1947
- The History of the Shaw Memorial Library and The Hallock Memorial School by Clara Hudson, July 28, 1951
- Massachusetts Genealogy – Family History Library
- Gazetteer of Hampshire County – 1654 – 1887 – Library of Congress Digital Collections
- The improbable, 200 year old marriage story of one of America’s first same sex marriages by Sara Kaplan, The Washington Post.
- A Teacher’s Resource Guide to the Historical, Geographic and Natural History of Plainfield, Massachusetts by Lori Austin 1998 Part I Introduction to Project
- A Teacher’s Resource Guide the Historical, Geographic and Natural History of Plainfield, Massachusetts: Introduction to Plainfield and Several Written Histories by Lori Austin. 1998. Part II
- A New Vision of Local History Narrative: Writing History in Cummington, Massachusetts. A thesis presented by Stephanie Pasternak, 2009, University of Massachusetts
- The Cummington Story – A YouTube video on the integration of a group of World War II refugees into the life of the small town of Cummington, Mass.
- Hilltown Families
- Memorial Day in Plainfield: Up with a Twist – Valley Advocate by Pleun Clara Bouricius – Jun 1, 2009
Print Resources
- Freeman, Stan & Nasuti, Mike. The Natural History and Resources of Western Massachusetts. Florence , Massachusetts: Hampshire House Publishing Company, 1994
- Cleeves, Rachael Hope. Sylvia and Charity: A Same Sex Marriage in Early America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
- The Western Hampshire Highlands, Massachusetts. Stutson, William P.,Packard, Harold S., Anserson, Millege T., McClelland, John J., and Willard, John D. (Editorial Committee.) Published by Western Hampshire Board of Trade. Springfield, MA, 1912 Sketches of the towns of Chesterfield, Cummington, Plainfield and Worthington in the Highlands of Massachusetts. Illustrated with numerous photographs showing the towns’ churches, inns, town halls, etc. Includes 20 pages of interesting local advertisements.
- Wikander, Lawrence E., and others. The Hampshire History: Celebrating 300 Years of Hampshire County, Massachusetts. Northampton, Mass; Hampshire County Commissioners, 1964.