Historical maps

If you are doing genealogical research or just like looking at old, historical maps this is a link you should be looking at! It’s fun and who knows what you’ll see and discover!

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Historical Quadrangle Scanning Project (HQSP) is in the process of releasing all editions and all scales of more than 200,000 historic topographic maps of the United States dating from 1884-2006.

For more than 130 years, the USGS topographic mapping program has accurately portrayed the complex geography of our Nation. The historical topographic map collection contains all editions and all scales of USGS topographic quadrangles. Files are high resolution (600 DPI) scanned images of all maps from the USGS legacy collection.

The historical topographic map collection includes all States and U.S. territories mapped by the USGS. The HQSP creates a master catalogue and digital archive for all topographic maps and provides easy access to the public to download this historical data to accompany topographic maps that are no longer available for distribution as lithographic prints.

Historical maps are available to the public at no cost in GeoPDF format from the USGS Store. These maps are georeferenced and can be used in conjunction with the new USGS digital topographic map, the US Topo

American Ancestors

Are you interested in researching your family tree? The Dracut Library has free in-library access to the databases of the New England Historical Genealogical Society.  Take advantage of their online seminars, articles and databases. Obtain access to early newspapers and diaries; Massachusetts vital records; Records of Massachusetts soldiers of the Colonial Wars; Middlesex County Probate Records from 1648-1909 and too much more to list! The access is available only on an in-house basis (which means you need to be in the library to use this resource), but we think you’ll find that it’s well worth the visit!

History Pin

The digital age has left many over age 50 struggling to catch up. Technology has zoomed by, making a generational divide like never before. The younger generation, who have never known a world without computers, do not understand why using an ATM or loading an iPod is a difficult task for other people. Plugged in and tuned out we are losing our ties to one another.

Enter some folks from the East London. They began to ask the question: “What would you ask one million people to do to change the world?” That question and the thousands of replies that resulted, gave birth to the social action group We Are What We Do. Their newest project aimed at changing the world, involves bridging the generation gap. Historypin brings generations together through photography. Family albums, movies and slide shows have long been a way to gather families together to reminisce. It is that coming together that Historypin is aiming for. Social action #132 is Share a Piece of Your History.

Using Google maps street view mode,  Historypin allows you to up load an old photo and compare then & now. You are able to write a story about your photo,  sharing the names, date and explanation of how that photo came to be. Historypin also has recommended links to guide you on your genealogical journey. This is a super tool for teachers!!

Lakeview Park

Postcard of Lakeview Park Entrance

1910 Muller Carousel

By Alan MacInnes  Special to The Carousel News & Trader

The 1910 Muller carousel that now runs at Forest Park in Queens, NY, was previously operated in Dracut MA, where it was dismantled in 1971. It was located along Lake Mascuppic. The site of the former Lakeview “amusement park” is now a complex of lakeside garden apartments that were built in the 1970s.

Lakeview was not a self-contained park, but rather a collection of attractions on either side of Tyngsboro Road that ran along side the lake. In its final days, this included the carousel, a ferris wheel, bumper cars, and a kiddie train. Next to the carousel was a small restaurant called Tony’s. The restaurant building still exists today and is presently called Sunnyside.

When Lakeview Park was in its most active years, trolley lines running from downtown Lowell, and continuing north to Nashua, NH, provided easy access to the park. By automobile, there was not as convenient a route, and this probably contributed to the park’s gradual decline.

Dr. Moses asks…

…do you know where your medical information is coming from??? The newest trend seems to be visiting social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter to obtain answers to medical questions. Dr. Moses wants you to beware!

Who was Dr. Moses? Dr. Moses Greeley Parker was a surgeon in the 57th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during the Civil War.  He received personal congratulations from President Lincoln for his outstanding work to improve medical techniques for those wounded in battle. Dr. Moses Greeley Parker worked after the war to provide free medical care for those who could not afford it.

Though he died long before the computer age, we think he probably would have been on the cutting edge of web-based medical information. As his trusted modern day librarians, we would like to point you to some of our favorite medical websites. Of course we must warn, if you are feeling ill you should seek immediate medical care from live medical professionals! Cyber Docs or websites are no substitute for the real thing.

Massachusetts Physicians Profiles

Cleveland Clinic

Merck Manual Medical Library

RxList (medication)

Mental Health.com

National Institute of Mental Health

Did you know…

On March 5, 1890 the voters at Town Meeting took the preliminary steps necessary to establish a library by authorizing a sum of money to defray the expenses of remodeling the upstairs of the Old School #7 as a library. The first floor was to be renovated to house municipal offices.

From “Dracut Library Heritage” by John C. Katin.

Today we know Old School #7 as Town Hall. The above image, (of what we know as “The Selectman’s Chamber” on the second floor of Town Hall), is from a painting in the collection of the Dracut Historical Society.

Did you know that…

…Town meeting once chose “dog thumpers” to prevent dogs from fighting during church services? Children from families that had only one footstove used the family dog to keep warm.

~ from “The Photographic History of Dracut, Massachusetts” by Donat H. Paquet with photographs by Peter Bell.

Your vote matters. Go to Town Meeting and let your voice be heard! We may not need “dog thumpers” any more, but the Town does need other vital services, (like the Library!!). The library will close at 6pm on Monday, June 7th, so you won’t have to decide between going to the library or going to Town Meeting.

Daisy says: “If you are having dog problems, the Library staff will happily direct you to books and internet resources to help you train your dog (I strongly discourage thumping!!).  Start by visiting the following websites:

MSPCA – Nevins Farm Dog Training

Humane Society of the United States

Victoria Stillwell – It’s me or the dog!

Patriot’s Day

If you are from Massachusetts, then you are very familiar with Patriot’s Day. You may think of the Boston Marathon or perhaps that other great mass march, which occurred April 19th, 1775, when the British regulars marched into Lexington and Concord marking the start of the Revolutionary War.

Dracut residents were part of that fateful day and time. They would go on to participate in the Battle of Bunker Hill, where 3 men died,  as well as at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-1778. Did you know that 439 men out of a population of 1173, or 37% of the population of Dracut took part in the Revolution?! Check out the links below for events and information about the Revolution. Take a day or the week and explore the history around us.

Minuteman National Park

Minuteman Bikeway

Spy Letters of The American Revolution

Boston Massacre Historical Society

Ever wonder…

Dr. Moses Greeley Parker

…how we became the Moses Greeley Parker Memorial Library? Well, prior to his death October 1, 1917, Dr. Moses Greeley Parker made plans with his sister, Mrs. Mary Morrison, to build a public library in Dracut. He donated $10.000 for the project.

Dr. Moses Greeley Parker was an incredible man! Among his many accomplishments, he was the first to photograph the tubercular bacillus; the first to photograph electric currents and to show they take the form of spirals (this meant that if telephone wires were spiraled messages could be sent over longer distances); and he also is credited with inventing the telephone directory system – so you can thank Moses Greeley for your telephone number!!

Would you like to learn more? Come to the library and ask for

Mrs. Mary Morrison

“The Photographic History of Dracut, Massachusetts” by Donat H. Paquet with photographs by Peter Bell.

Did you know that…

… the Dr. Christos Daoulas Education Complex on Lakeview Ave., (also known as the Dracut High School Complex), was once an airport?? Known as the Richardson Airport, it was established following World War II on land that had once been the farm of Justus C. Richardson. The building which we know today as the Dracut Historical Society, was once used as a headquarters for the officers of the Civil Air Patrol Training Program.

Do you want more fun Dracut facts?? Come to the library and explore “The Photographic History of Dracut, Massachusetts” by Donat H. Paquet with photographs by Peter Bell. Knowing where you’ve landed can often help you fly further in life. Explore your library!