Managed by the Westborough Center for History and Culture at the Westborough Public Library, The Ebenezer Parkman Project is a unique collaborative effort on the part of the Westborough Public Library, the Congregational Library’s New England’s Hidden Histories, the American Antiquarian Society, and the Colonial Society of Massachusetts to digitize, transcribe, and make accessible the remarkable writings of the most eminent clergyman in central Massachusetts.
The work of Prof. Ross W. Beales, Jr., who has dedicated much of his academic career to studying Parkman, sits at the core of this project. His transcription of Parkman’s 4000-page diary is the heart of the project, and his transcriptions of other works by Parkman and his research on the people who lived in Westborough during Parkman’s time help to fill out the body of this website, which is rich in content about Westborough and colonial life in rural New England.
Dr. Ross W. Beales, Jr. (Professor Emeritus, College of the Holy Cross), Dr. James F. Cooper (Director, New England’s Hidden Histories), and Dr. Anthony T. Vaver (Local History Librarian, Westborough Public Library) together direct The Ebenezer Parkman Project.
Official collection name: Ebenezer Parkman Project
Local identifier: LH.080
Creator: Westborough Public Library
Date: 1724 – present
Subject: Westborough (Mass.) — Social life and customs;
Massachusetts — Social life and customs — To 1775;
Parkman, Ebenezer — 1703-1782 — Diaries;
Parkman, Ebenezer — 1703-1782;
Online access:
Photographs, CD-ROM, film negatives, glass negatives. Miscellaneous collection of photographs and negatives relating to Westborough.
Official collection name: Historical Photographs of Westborough
Location: Filing cabinet and Shelving
Local identifier: LH.011
Creator: Westborough Public Library
Date: Undetermined
Extent: 3 filing cabinets +
Subject: Westborough (Mass.)–Pictorial works
Online access:
Various postcards depicting buildings and sites in Westborough. The “Duplicates” packet may repeat those stored in the photo album.
Official collection name: Historical Postcards of Westborough
Location: Shelving
Local identifier: LH.036
Creator: Westborough Public Library
Date: Undetermined
Extent: One photo album plus one packet
Subject: Postcards–Westborough (Mass.); Westborough (Mass.)–Pictorial works
Microfilm, atlas. Copies of the papers of Ebenezer Parkman and his family, plus an atlas that appears to have been used, and possibly created, by Ebenzer Parkman while he was at Harvard University.
Official collection name: Parkman Family Papers, 1707-1800
Location: Shelving
Local identifier: LH.017
Creator: Ebenezer Parkman and Family
Date: 1707-1800
Extent: 2 linear feet (7 microfilm rolls + atlas)
Subject: Parkman, Ebenezer, 1703-1782; Parkman family
The Photographer-in-Residence program at the Westborough Public Library was created as part of the Westborough Center for History and Culture in 2018. Brandin Tumeinski served as the first Photographer-in-Residence from 2018-2019 and was succeeded by Adway Wadekar from 2019-2020.
Official collection name: Photographer-in-Residence Photograph Collection
Location: Digital Repository
Local identifier: LH.068
Creator: Westborough Public Library
Date: 2018 – present
Extent: N/A
Subject: Westborough (Mass.)–Pictorial works; Westborough (Mass.)–Social life and customs
Online access:
Citations and proclamations signed by Massachusetts State politicians recognizing Westborough Veterans of Desert Shield and Desert Storm during the town’s welcome home celebration and the town’s 275th anniversary celebration.
Official collection name: Commonwealth of Massachusetts Proclamations and Citations
Location: Shelving
Local identifier: LH.033
Creator: Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Date: 1991-1992
Extent: 4 proclamations
Subject: Proclamations–Massachusetts
Three plates, each with images relating to Westborough history (including one plate of the Library, produced by C. E. Beach, Druggist).
Official collection name: Westborough History Plates
Location: Shelving
Local identifier: LH.040
Creator: Westborough Public Library
Date: Unknown
Extent: 1 linear foot (2 boxes)
Subject: Westborough (Mass.)–Social life and customs
