Collections

Museum collections related to the Boston Harbor Islands, comprising over 6,000 items, are held by more than a dozen organizations including municipal, state, and federal agencies, as well as nonprofit and educational institutions. Collections include archival, historical, archeological, and natural history objects, specimens, documents, and images.

Collections related to the Boston Harbor Islands fall into a range of categories from Natural History and Indigenous History to industrial history, and "The Big Dig."

Find a list of institutions and collections below:

 

University of Massachusetts, Boston

Thompson Island Collection, 1814-1990 at University of Massachusetts, Boston
Collection of materials and student records from the Thompson Island Trade school and its previous iterations. It includes student records, annual reports, by-laws, minutes, correspondence, journals, ledgers, pamphlets, newsletters, yearbooks, photographs, and scrapbooks. A portion of this collection is available digitally.

Thompson’s Island Beacon at University of Massachusetts, Boston
Collection of the Thompson Island Farm School’s publication Thompson Island Beacon. A portion of this collection is available digitally.

Boston Harbor Now records at University of Massachusetts, Boston
Records of Boston Harbor Now, an organization formed in 2016 through the merging of the Boston Harbor Association and the Boston Harbor Island Alliance, which date back to the late 1960s and 1970s. Materials include meeting minutes, correspondence, pamphlets, brochures, reports, books, maps, blueprints, and photographs.

Boston Harbor Islands Partnership Records at University of Massachusetts, Boston
Records of the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership. Materials include by-laws, minutes, reports, correspondence, notes, pamphlets, flyers, newsletters, clippings, and agendas.

Suzanne Gall Marsh Boston Harbor Islands Collection at University of Massachusetts, Boston
Collection of Suzanne Gall Marsh, founder of the Boston Harbor Islands Volunteer Corps and Park Ranger for the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park. Materials include newspaper articles, clippings, photographs, negatives, reports, correspondence, pamphlets, newsletters, books, and maps.

Boston Harbor Islands Advisory Council Records at University of Massachusetts, Boston
Records of the Boston Harbor Islands Advisory Council. Materials include by-laws, minutes, reports, plans, correspondence, notes, pamphlets, flyers, clippings, and articles.

Boston Habor Islands National Park and Recreation Area: National Park Services Publications at University of Massachusetts, Boston
This collection contains research materials that consist of reports, plans, guides, brochures, newsletters, magazines, articles, press clippings, maps, and ephemera.

Cathy Stanton Papers at University of Massachusetts, Boston
This collection contains the record documents for the ethnographic study of the Peddocks Island cottage community, conducted by the National Park Service Northeast Region Ethnography Program and Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area, by Principal Investigator Cathy Stanton. Materials includes photographs, maps, newspaper articles, DVDs, flash drives, and digital resources such as digital photos and maps developed for the final report.

University of Massachusetts Boston Fiske Center for Archaeological Research Records at University of Massachusetts, Boston
These records document the archaeology projects of the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Fiske Center for Archaeological Research as part of the Central Artery Tunnel Project (the Big Dig). This collection includes photos, notes, magazines, copies of deeds, and copies of architectural drawings, maps, and plans dating before 1950.

Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Collection at University of Massachusetts, Boston
Collection of photos from Alfred K. Schroeder, a professional photographer for the Reservations and Historic Sites Division of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. Photos document the Boston Harbor Island’s military defense history. Materials include inventory lists, photographs, ephemera, and papers.

Boston Harbor Educators Conference Materials at University of Massachusetts, Boston
Collection of conference materials from the 1987 Boston Harbor Educators Conference.

Mary Geehan Spectacle Island Photographs at University of Massachusetts, Boston
Collection of Mary Geehan, resident of Spectacle Island in the early 20th century. This collection contains photos of life on Spectacle Island.

Volunteers and Friends of Boston Harbor Island Inc. Records at University of Massachusetts, Boston
Collection of the Volunteers and Friends of Boston Harbor organization. Materials includes meeting minutes, flyers, photographs, publications, reports, newsletters, pamphlets, maps of the Boston Harbor Islands, posters, exhibit panels, reports, film reels, DVDs and VHS cassettes.

Boston Harbor Islands Mass. Memories Road Show at University of Massachusetts, Boston
A fully digital collection made up of photos, videos, and digitized material that are contributed by individuals with relationships to the Boston Harbor Islands. This collection was created as part of a participatory archiving initiative at University of Massachusetts, Boston.

 

Harvard University

Doris Cole and Harold Goyette Collection at Harvard University
Collection of Doris Cole and Harold Goyette, architects who were involved in the planning of the Big Dig and Spectacle Island. Material contained in the collection includes drawings, photographs, slides, publications, and more.

Documents concerning the sale of Apple Island at Harvard University Archives
Record of the sale of the Apple Island by William Marsh to Robert Wilcox.

Album of Helen Augusta Whittier at Harvard University Archives
Album containing drawings, watercolors, photographs, and daily entries from a stay by Helen Augusta Whitter and three friends on Greater Brewster Island in 1891.

Museum of Comparative Zoology: Entomology - Boston Harbor Islands Terrestrial Invertebrate ATBI
This All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory includes insets and other invertebrate specimens.

Ward’s Island (Bumpkin Island) at Harvard University Archives
Records of Samuel Ward, a resident of Chalrestown, Massachusetts who bequeathed the island to Harvard College in 1680. He gave it to Harvard to help provide a source of income from tenant farmers that would benefit Harvard students. This collection includes leases of the island and tenants and correspondence related to the property and its management.

City of Boston Archives

Spectacle Island Photograph Album at City of Boston Archives
Photos of Spectacle Island ranging from 1925-1990

Long Island Hospital Records at City of Boston Archives
Records of the Long Island Hospital dating back to the 1890s. Materials include: correspondence, employee records, meeting minutes, newsletters, and patient records.

Mayor Kevin White Records at City of Boston Archives
Records of Mayor Kevin White contain materials related to the Boston Harbor Islands in 1969.

Boston Harbor Islands Advisory Committee at City of Boston Archives
This is a series within the Boston 200’s Enviornmental Improvements program collection focusing on improvements to Boston’s physical spaces, including historic preservation and open space initiatives. Materials include correspondence, memos, brochures, news clippings, fact sheets, project proposals, budget information, and planning documents.

Northeastern University

Central Artery Environmental Oversight Committee (Anne Fanton) records at Northeastern University Archives
Anne Fanton’s papers from her time as executive director of the Central Artery Environmental Oversight Committee. Materials include agreements, amendments, correspondence, reports, correspondence, and environmental impact statements and reports.

Daneil J. McNichol Papers at Northeastern University Archives
Papers of Daniel J. McNichol’s, Deputy Director for Public Affairs of the Big Dig. This collection includes papers, photos, and reports documenting Boston’s development starting in the 1760s through the 1950s construction of the Central Artery, highlighting the impact of construction and Big Dig on the Boston Harbor Islands.

Massachusetts Historical Society

Massachusetts Historical Society holds a variety of maps and photos related to the Boston Harbor Islands.

State Library of Massachusetts

David C. Harrison Papers at the State Library of Massachusetts
Collection contains the materials related to David C. Harrison’s papers related to his work with the Boston Harbor Islands Commission from mid 1960s through 1969. Materials include attendance lists, programs, and transcripts of the Boston Harbor Islands Commission Conference.