12Titles
Explore publications and collections from the past.
Community History Archive Partner
Peterborough Town Library
Peterborough, New Hampshire
Explore this community history collection to discover the people, places, organizations, and events of Peterborough.
1776 to 2024Dates represented
See individual titles for available dates.
271,040Archive pages
Historical pages reported for this collection.
Explore local history
Discover the people, places, and stories of Peterborough, New Hampshire.
Explore the range of historical sources shared by the Peterborough Town Library. Its twelve titles include material from 1776 to 2024.
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Selected titles
The collection from Peterborough Town Library includes “Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps” and “The Peterborough Transcript”.
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Free and open access
No subscription or payment required.
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Ways to explore
Maps and atlases show how places were represented. Newspapers capture the public conversation of their day.
A family story can open into a wider history when more than one kind of source is involved. Maps and atlases show how places and boundaries were represented at the time. Yearbooks and annuals gather the people and activities a publication chose to remember from a year. If Peterborough is part of your own story, a familiar name or place can be the thread that leads you from one kind of source to another.
A family story, a classroom project or curiosity about a familiar place can lead to a closer look at the community and the lives of earlier generations. Explore the archive online for free, without a subscription.
Collection materials
Follow a linked material to find other archives in the directory.
Explore the collection
Titles in this collection
Browse twelve titles and 271,040 digitized pages, with material from 1776 to 2024. Through a partnership with Advantage Archives, Peterborough Town Library shares these sources from the past. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.
Explore the titles below for a closer look at the places, people and everyday life of earlier generations.
Contoocook Transcript
1,270 pages from 1849 to 1854
CONVAL Regional High School Yearbook
23,254 pages from 1945 to 2018
Genealogy Of Holmes Family Memories
2,990 pages in 1883
Hillsboro County Republican And State Clarion
168 pages from 1830 to 1831
Jaffrey Recorder Transcript
48 pages from 1958 to 1960
Millers Paper
1,140 pages in 1776
Monadnock Ledger-Transcript
66,454 pages from 2006 to 2024
New Hampshire Land Surveyor
442 pages in 1901
New Hampshire Underground Railroad
1,074 pages in 1834
Peterborough Messenger
416 pages from 1847 to 1848
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
988 pages in 1901
The Peterborough Transcript
172,796 pages from 1854 to 2006
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About the Archive
About the Peterborough Town Library's History Archives
The Peterborough Town Library offers free access to its extensive digital archives, in partnership with Advantage Archives . The archive provides a wealth of historical materials, including newspapers and genealogical records, available for public exploration. The Peterborough Town Library aims to preserve and promote local history through these invaluable resources.
About the Library
About the Peterborough Town Library
Established in 1833, the Peterborough Town Library is the oldest tax-supported library in the U.S. Today, the library offers a variety of services to foster lifelong learning and community engagement. Through modern resources, programs, and an extensive historical archive, the library continues to be a vital community hub for Peterborough and the surrounding areas.
Library History
The History of the Peterborough Town Library
The Peterborough Town Library has a rich history, being the first library in the U.S. to be supported by public funds. Its commitment to education and community development has made it a cherished institution in Peterborough for nearly two centuries.
About the Community
About Peterborough, New Hampshire
Peterborough is a historic town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, known for its cultural significance and scenic beauty. The town has a strong artistic community and a deep commitment to preserving its history, which is reflected in institutions like the Peterborough Town Library.
Local History
Did You Know?
- The Peterborough Town Library is the first public library in the U.S. supported by taxation.
- Peterborough is home to the MacDowell Colony, one of the oldest artist colonies in the United States.
More ways to explore and share local history
Research Guidance
Bring different sources into a story
Bring a family connection or community question about Peterborough to the varied sources shared by Peterborough Town Library. Follow a name or activity through a dated yearbook or annual, reading captions and nearby pages for context where they are present.
Note the recorded date, location, parcel, or legal description where supplied. A deed or assessment reflects a particular record and purpose; it does not by itself establish continuous ownership, modern boundaries, or market value. Where coverage overlaps, compare a name, place, or event in another source. Keep each account’s date and purpose visible rather than treating a similar name as proof of identity.
Keep the title, date, page or item reference with each useful finding. Separate the words in a historical account from your interpretation, and note conflicting perspectives rather than choosing one too quickly. These notes help you connect a local story to its evidence and explain what remains uncertain.
Community Partnership
Keeping local history a community resource
This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Peterborough Town Library, its community, and Advantage Archives. Together, these partnerships preserve local sources and give people a way to explore, learn from, and share the history around them.
Advantage Archives covers ongoing archive hosting, storage, development, and maintenance. The institution and its community do not pay a subscription, seat license, annual support contract, or other recurring archive-service charge. Local history remains a community resource, not a subscription to maintain.
Would you like to see more of your community's history preserved and accessible? Start a conversation with your library, newspaper publisher, historical or genealogical society, museum, or school about the materials they would like to share and a possible partnership with Advantage Archives.
Learn about partnerships
Stories, research tips, and archive news
Read All About It connects archive research with the people and institutions preserving local history. Explore partner and community stories, project updates, research ideas, and perspectives on digitization, education, and working with primary sources. Use the articles as a starting point for your next question or a new way to share a discovery.
May 7, 2025
Why Microfilm is still important in 2023
Preserving documents on microfilm has been a popular method of storage for many years, and it still holds many benefits today. Here…
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May 7, 2025
Don’t Search For An Obituary By Only Searching For An “Obituary”
In the quest to trace our roots and understand our heritage, obituaries often serve as a crucial starting point. Obituaries are undoubtedly…
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April 9, 2025
Unveiling the Hidden Mysteries: Exploring Cold Cases and Unconventional Clues
Even the most esteemed police forces in the county encounter perplexing cold case files. These unsolved mysteries often leave investigators and genealogists…
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April 1, 2025
This Week in History: March 31st through April 6th
Discover History in The Community History Archives. This week in history, there is absolutely nothing to talk about… April Fools! April…
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March 24, 2025
This Week in History: March 24th through March 30th
Discover History in The Community History Archives. It has officially been a year since I started writing This Week in History,…
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March 18, 2025
It’s Your Community’s History, So Why Rent Something You Own?
We believe that history belongs to the communities where it was made - not locked behind paywalls or inaccessible due to budget restrictions. Subscription-based services and large content aggregators are generally more concerned with "content" and less concerned with the history that content contains. Their models typically involve a reoccurring charge for a plan that renews annually or licensing agreements with the library based on population served or circulation numbers. You are essentially Renting Access To YOUR History.
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