UMass gets early Hampshire Cty. records

AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP) - A special donation to UMass Amherst will help scholars of early American history.

A major gift of paper records dealing with Hampshire County were donated to the University libraries. The Hampshire Council of Governments transferred the records to the Libraries' Special Collections and University archives.

Included in the collection are land grants, court cases, census, maps, and other information that documents the development and growth of Hampshire County dating to the Seventeenth Century.

"The attempts to create an orderly society and maintain what they saw as a moral society and you see the conflicts within the community and the coalitions that form,” Rob Cox of UMass Amherst said.

The earliest documents date back to 1677. Plans are underway to digitize much of the collection over the next two years, and make it available online.