Scope and Content: From 1790 to 1837, population censuses in Massachusetts were limited to those taken decennially by the federal government under constitutional provision.  Starting in 1837 the General Court authorized state decennial censuses to supplement the federal ones, for determining representation in the legislature and other purposes.  These state censuses have been conducted by authority of constitutional and statutory provisions under the auspices of the secretary of the Commonwealth.  The 1975 decennial census was taken in accordance with a constitutional amendment passed in 1974 to reduce the size of the House of Representatives from 240 to 160 members (Const Amend Art 101).  The census was to be used as a basis for determining representative, senatorial, and councillor districts and for distributing state and federal reimbursements to cities and towns (St 1975, c 10).  City and town decennial census files are returns made by city and town officials to the state secretary’s office, specifically to the state census director, head of the Census Division, for verification.
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically by municipality
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