Hours:
Monday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Tuesday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Wednesday: 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Thursday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Friday: 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m.-1 p.m.*
*Closed Memorial Day - Labor Day
Print from computers & mobile devices $.10/page
During inclement weather call 978-632-5298 for Library closings/delays or check our facebook page
City of Gardner website
The Local
History Room is open to the public on Tuesdays from
9AM-12PM, Wednesdays from
3PM-7PM, and Thursdays 9AM-2PM.
The Local History Room will be closed the following
dates: June 4, June 6, July 9, July 11, and July 16.
Obituary and
other brief newspaper searches can be requested by
contacting the Local History Librarian at
historyga@cwmars.org.
Allowable copies are at the
discretion of the Local History Librarian and are for
personal use only. Publication of library materials
requires a contract and a fee of $50.00 per image.
The Local History Room is located off the Reference Room on the second floor of the Library. The collection includes materials relating to the history of the City of Gardner and surrounding areas, as well as genealogical materials. The room houses books, newspapers, maps, town directories, annual reports, street lists, atlases, photographs, manuscripts, yearbooks and pamphlets. The archives of the Heywood-Wakefield Co, which was a pre-eminent furniture manufacturer located in Gardner, are part of this collection. Materials include many of the company's furniture catalogs. While most items are unique to this room, an effort has been made to have duplicates of published Gardner histories available in the circulating collection.
The Local History Room now has two beautifully restored items relating to the Civil War, thanks to a grant from the Massachusetts Sesquicentennial Commission of the American Civil War and matching funds from the Friends of Levi Heywood Memorial Library. The first is a broadside entitled Soldier’s Memorial, listing the members and engagements of Company H, 36th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, which includes stylized images of war scenes. A facsimile of the broadside is on display in the first floor of the library; the original is in the Local History Room. The second is a manuscript record book of the members of D. G. Farragut Post No. 116, Grand Army of the Republic, often including death dates. Together with a book of personal narratives and Herrick’s History of the Town of Gardner, the library is fortunate to have very good accounts of Gardner Civil War participants.
Microfilm
The Library’s collection of microfilms is located adjacent to the Reference Desk on the second floor, separate from the Local History and Genealogy Collections and can be used during open library hours. These include microfilm of The Gardner News (weekly 1869-1904; daily 1896- April 2017); The Gardner Journal (weekly 1890-1914); The Gardner Globe (weekly Apr 1891-July 1891), and Gardner census data from 1800-1930.
Check with the Reference desk on the second floor for assistance. Printouts can be made at a cost of $.10 per page.
Policies
The Levi Heywood Memorial Library is offering individual help with genealogical research. Genealogist Marcia White will be in the Local History Room to offer assistance on Wednesdays from 3-7PM during the months of June, July, and August.
Provincial Archives of New Brunswick
