Researching Your Historic Home

Interested in learning more about your historic home? There are several resources easily available on the Internet that can help you learn more about your building's history.

  1. Inventory Forms
  2. Maps
  3. Directories
  4. Deed Research
  5. Other Resources

Inventory Forms

Since the 1970s, the Framingham Historical Commission has been documenting the City's historic resources on inventory forms which provide general information about the building's architecture and history. Although not every historic building has been documented on an inventory form, the existing forms have been digitized by the Massachusetts Historical Commission and are available through the Massachusetts Cultural Resources Information System (MACRIS)

MACRIS can be a bit clumsy to use; although there are several different search options, it is best to simply enter the city and street name (without the house number) to see if your property has been documented. If your address has a purple "INV" box in the right-hand column, you may select the box to download a PDF version of the form. Many of the forms are older and incomplete; the Historical Commission is planning to update all of them in the coming years.