The Highland School Time Capsule, which was placed in the cornerstone of the school in 1900, was opened on February 18, 1997.  Inside were autobiographies, letters, and poems written by the principal, teachers, and students of the Nonotuck School who would be transferring to the new Highland School.  Also found inside were letters by the architects of the new school.

This collection includes the original time capsule contents, a small amount of memorabilia from activities at the Highland School in the early 1900s, and photographs and news clippings from capsule opening day in 1997.

Front page of the Holyoke Daily Transcript, April 6, 1917

Several Holyoke area newspapers are available on Microfilm in the Holyoke History Reading Room.   Holdings and dates are listed below.  In addition, our collection of Newspaper Scrapbooks (partly indexed) from the 1880s – 1980s provide some access to topics by subject.

Holyoke Daily Transcript and Holyoke Transcript-Telegram
1882 – 1993

The History Room has near-complete microfilm holdings for Holyoke’s daily paper of record for more than 100 years.  On site patrons can view newspapers on one of our three microfilm readers.  For remote patrons, our volunteer staff can conduct limited research of microfilm material.  We request that you provide at least the month and year of the event.   If you are seeking an obituary and cannot find a date of death, please contact us to find out if we can locate the date.

The Holyoke Telegram
1912-1922

The Springfield Union News and The Republican (Springfield)
1993 – Ongoing

La Justice (French)
1909-1944

The History Room also has incomplete runs on microfilm of The Hampden Freeman, The Holyoke Freeman, The Holyoke Weekly Mirror, and the Holyoke Transcript (weekly edition) in the date range 1849-1872.

Print copies of the Holyoke Sun, a weekly news publication covering local news in Holyoke, South Hadley, and Chicopee are available from June 1995 to 2012, with some gaps in later years.  We maintain digital copies of the Holyoke Sun from June 2012-present, with some gaps.

See also:
Special Industrial Edition of the Holyoke Daily Transcript (1897)  (digital)
Thirtieth Anniversary Edition of the Holyoke Daily Transcript (1912) (digital)

Holyoke History Room Local History Files

The first high school in Holyoke opened in 1852, meeting in two rooms in Gallaudet Hall on the corner of High and Lyman Streets.  Crowded conditions necessitated the search for better accommodations, which were found in the Chapin Block on Dwight Street between Race and Main.  In 1862, the first High School building, a two-story brick structure with a slate roof and two wings, was constructed on Elm Street.  Rapid population growth increased the demand for expanded course offerings and physical space and in 1898 a new three-story building, covering a city block, was constructed on Sargeant Street, bounded by Pine, Hampshire, and Beech Streets.  The high school continued to grow and a gymnasium was built across the street in 1913.  The Sargeant Street site remained the home of the high school until the current building was erected on Beech Street in 1964.

The Holyoke High School collection is comprised of 45 boxes, 93 volumes, 11 record books/ledgers documenting school history and operations from 1850 to 2005.  The collection includes annual reports, photographs, memorabilia, the school newspaper (The Herald), manuscript material, and a small number of scrapbooks.  While much of this collection is unprocessed, portions are available for research upon request.

The Holyoke High School Yearbook, The Annual, is available for viewing in the Reading Room.  Holdings cover 1915 (the first year of publication)  to 2014 (with minor gaps).

See also (available in the Reading Room):

Local History Files: Schools (individual folders on schools throughout Holyoke’s history)

Municipal Registers:  Annual Reports of Holyoke city department heads, bound volumes, 1851-1968 (with minor gaps)

Holyoke Public Schools Annual Reports (pamphlet-bound)

Finding aid

The Holyoke Visiting Nurse Association, Inc. was established in 1905 when R.S. Vining was appointed the first and only nurse of the Holyoke District Nurse Association (HDNA). By the year 1912, the HDNA was making more than 3500 visits to 220 different families in Holyoke. In 1925 the name was changed from the Holyoke District Nurse Association and incorporated as the Holyoke Visiting Nurse Association, Inc. (HVNA). In the 1950s and 1960s the HVNA added nurses, created a medical advisory board and started a Home Health Aide program. The HVNA is still active in the region and currently includes South Hadley and Granby in its coverage area.

The Holyoke Visiting Nurse Association, Inc. Records consist of material dating from 1905, when the association was established as the District Nurse Association, to the late 1980s. In the collection are reports from the executive director, annual meeting minutes and booklets, statistical ledgers, account books, photographs, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, press releases, procedural pamphlets, and income and expense reports.

The Holyoke Women’s Club was organized in June, 1923, and incorporated on Feb 21, 1924, with 60 original members.  The club’s origins were in the Women’s Civic League (established April 15, 1909), which later became the Women’s Municipal League.  The Holyoke Women’s Club charter describes its purpose as “forming a center for moral, intellectual, and social betterment of the citizens of Holyoke, Massachusetts and the vicinity.”

By the 1930s, membership had grown to 1000.  The club organized social events (garden parties, plays, dances, and concerts) and hosted noted speakers on subjects of local, national, and international importance. Topics included public health conditions, global issues, arts and travel, higher education for women, and practical concerns related to women’s contributions in the home.  The club also conducted fundraising (in part through bridge parties) aimed at improving civic life, offering support to the Red Cross, the YWCA, historic preservation projects, child nutrition programs, and local hospitals and clinics.

By the 1960s, membership had fallen to 468, but the club was still very active. In the mid-1970s, approximately 200 members remained.  Charitable club activities continued at least until 1993, when it was operating with 44 members.

The collection consists of 10 scrapbooks (1923-1992) containing news clippings, photographs, pamphlets, club yearbooks, and correspondence.  An additional scrapbook documents the club’s 1972 “Community Improvement Project.”