As part of its mission to communicate and share its collections, the Massachusetts Historical Society makes selected manuscripts and artifacts available for online viewing. Use this guide to begin exploring our digital archives, online curriculum, and web exhibitions.
"The Decisive Day Is Come": The Battle of Bunker HillIn 2000, to mark the 225th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Massachusetts Historical Society developed its first web exhibition -- personal accounts and eyewitness descriptions of the battle, along with contemporary maps, drawings, engravings, broadsides, and artifacts, either preserved by the participants or found on the battlefield. View Online 
Maps of the French and Indian WarAn online exhibition featuring maps, a 30 page atlas, a timeline, and other resources. View Online Object of the Month  At the MHS we are best known for our extensive manuscript archives, but the collections also include paintings, photographs, numismatics and other important historical artifacts. Each month we select an object, photograph, or other artifact to feature online as our Object of the Month. 
Thomas Jefferson Papers: An Electronic ArchiveFeaturing selections from the Coolidge Collection of Thomas Jefferson Manuscripts at the Massachusetts Historical Society, this online exhibition includes high resolutions scans of Jefferson's manuscript copy of the Declaration of Independence, Farm Book, and Garden Book. View Online John Quincy Adams: One President's Adolescence  This exhibit is a document-based directed study featuring ordinary and extraordinary letters, diary entries, and parental advice from JQA's early years. The content and curriculum for this exhibit was prepared by Robert Baker, teacher at Needham High School and 2001 Swensrud Fellow. View Online Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive  This searchable electronic archive presents images of manuscripts and digital transcriptions from the Adams Family Papers including correspondence between John and Abigail Adams, the diary of John Adams, and the autobiography of John Adams. View Online |