Library, Archives, & Essays

The Regional History Room at Bennington Museum is open Monday and Thursday afternoons, 1-4 (by appointment when the Museum is closed January-March: library@benningtonmuseum.org).

The library collection which is managed by the Bennington Historical Society is the region’s most comprehensive resource on the history of Vermont and genealogy of New England and Vermont families. It includes resources not found online such as rare books, family history files, maps, newspapers, and archival resources in the Museum’s collection.

The Regional History Room is staffed by knowledgeable volunteers who will be happy to help you with your Bennington-related research. The library is non-circulating and access is free.

If you are unable to travel to Bennington, we recommend these other resources

  • The Museum’s catalog is online, most pieces in our archives are not scanned, but copying services are available upon request.
  • Typescripts for the Harwood Diaries in the Museum’s collection are available through Internet Archive. These diaries provide rich details of early 19th-century agricultural life in Bennington.
  • Early records from Bennington’s Old First Church have been scanned and made available through the Congregational Library and high resolution scans are available on their website.
  • Vermont related content is available on Ancestry.com and Newspapers.com for free to Vermont residents through the myVermont.gov portal
  • The Vermont Genealogy Library offers research assistance, online classes, newsletters, and membership benefits
  • The Genealogical Society of Vermont offers newsletters, online content, and an online query option.

Bennington Historical Society Research Projects

Essays
In addition to the resources directly affiliated with the museum’s library, many scholarly essays have been written by staff members either individually or in conjunction with others. These have appeared in journals and magazines and many are available to you here.  

Questions?  Please email library@benningtonmuseum.org