The Local History Room is located on the 3rd floor of the library. The room is unlocked and patrons may browse and access materials anytime the library is open.

Our digital collections include books, maps, the Newton Graphic newspaper (1886-1986), and oral histories. Other items in our digital collections may be found on the Digital Commonwealth and Internet Archive

There are Newton subject and biography card index files on the left as you enter the Local History Room. The biography card file is located in the drawers immediately to the right of the Newton subject card file index.

The subject index contains citations to newspapers, periodicals, and books in the in the collection about Newton.

The biography index contains citations to newspapers, periodicals, and books in the collection about Newton residents, past and present, which includes obituaries.

The subject and biography card indexes were closed on 12/31/1999. Please refer to the online Newton News Index for entries from January 1999 – December 2021, and check out the Newton News Obituary Index for a list of obituaries. (see the below section Where do I find an obituary for a person who died in Newton, Massachusetts? for more detailed obituary information).

General FAQ

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How did Newton get it’s name?
In 1639 John Jackson, his wife and their fifteen children became permanent settlers of an outlying area of Cambridge, known as Cambridge Village.  By 1645 a small community of 135 people had been established.  In 1688 Cambridge Village officially separated from Cambridge and became an independent township.  The township known by several names, Cambridge Village, New Cambridge, Newtown, and New Town was on December 15, 1691 granted the name Newton with the assignment of the brand mark ‘N’ by the General Court of Massachusetts.

Source: Newton, Massachusetts, 1679-1779 : a biographical directory / compiled and edited by Priscilla R. Ritter and Thelma Fleishman.

How did Newton get the second name of the Garden City?
In the book, Newton Massachusetts 1688-1988, a Celebration of Three Hundred Years by Theodore D. Mann, Mayor (at the time) and the Newton Tricentennial Corporation, 1988, there is the statement:

“It is in the 1880s that the term ‘Garden City’ began cropping up in speeches, administrative reports and promotional literature, and the movement for setting aside open space for public use gained momentum.” (p.65)

The references seem to be informal. With two references 1874 and 1875 made in newspaper advertisements to Newton The Garden City.

We have not yet found any official statement, ordinance or proclamation establishing Newton as the Garden City.

Geographical Location

Newton, MA: 
Longtitude  West 71⁰ 12′
Latitude North 42⁰   20′      
Elevation: 300 feet (highest) 10 feet (lowest)

Newton, MA has seven hills. ” In respect to hills, Newton claims the mystic and fortunate number of seven, like ancient Rome.; and these bear the names of Nonantum Hill, Waban Hill, Chestnut Hill, Institution Hill, Blad Pate, Oak Hill, and Mount Ida.”  Source: King’s Handbook of Newton by M.F. Sweetser 1889 p. 30-31

Direct link to the book King’s Handbook of Newton on Google Books or on the Internet Archive.

Request for Public Records
Visit the Public Records Request page via the City of Newton

How can I find out who my street is named for?
There is no definitive listing of how streets in Newton are named. Thus, this is a hard question to answer. Some of Newton’s street names recall lost veterans.( Newton Tab November 7, 2001 p. 11) while other streets and roads were named for prominent Newton citizens; i.e. Ward Street for Charles Ward, a descendant of the early settlers, and a Civil War army volunteer who was killed in the battle of Gettysburg, while other streets were name for and by the  housing developers of the city.

“Newton simply doesn’t record the origin of street names”  Ken Bresler, article November 7, 2011 p.11 Street names recall lost veterans.

Source: Newton Tab November 7, 2001 p.11; Darrell Azure Newton Engineering Department 

Where do I find an obituary for a person who died in Newton, Massachusetts?
With an exact death date (Day, Month and Year) you can check the microfilm of the Newton newspapers published 1866 to 2020. You can also check the microfilm of the Boston Globe from 1980 to present.

There are two Newton newspaper indexes to Newton, MA people. These indexes may have the obituary citation for the person you are looking for.

• From 1866 to December 1999: There is a card file in the library’s Local History & Genealogy Room which can be checked for obituary citations. This is an incomplete and very subjective listing of obituary citations.
• From January 1999 to December 2021 there is the digitized Newton News Obituary Index through the Internet Archive that can be checked for all of the obituaries recorded in the Newton News Index within that time.

A digitized version of the Newton Graphic 1886 – 1986 can be viewed here on the Internet Archive.

Please note that many times obituaries for Newton people were printed in the Boston newspapers.  You can check the BPL’s Obituary Database. Currently, this database includes obituaries published between 1932 and 1941 and between 1953 and 2010.  The Newton Free Library has the Boston Globe on microfilm from 1980 to present and currently subscribes to back electronic issues through ProQuest.

The Boston Public library has all of the Newton Newspapers on microfilm

To view anything on our Microfilm Machine, please fill out the request form here.