Collections & Research

With 400 years of written history, and an archaeological record going back millennia, Boston's story is diverse, complex, and continually being reframed. In this ongoing task, National Parks of Boston staff, interns, and volunteers work with scholars, research in archives, and collaborate with other historic institutions and universities to expand the body of research about Boston's history. Much of this research informs the programming on the Freedom Trail and Black Heritage Trail as well as features on nps.gov and park partner project webpages.

Park Collections

Boston National Historical Park's archival collection contain a range of materials related to our park sites. These materials include:

• Shipyard records and material from the Navy's time in Charlestown
• 70,000 photographs and negatives of the Boston Naval Shipyard and surrounding establishments
• 13,000 architectural drawings
• Records from the First Naval District
• Ship history files of ships that were built, launched, repaired, or commissioned at Boston Naval Shipyard
• The Boston Naval Shipyard News (the newspaper of the yard)
• USS Cassin Young photographs, blueprints, manuals, and ship records
• Visitor registers for Bunker Hill Monument, as well as documents relating to the monument's history
• Documents relating to Faneuil Hall, Dorchester Heights, Old North Church, Old State House, and Old South Meeting House

For more information on Boston National Historical Park's collections, please contact David Vecchioli, Museum Curator, at 617-242-5603 or via email.

Data Sets

The data sets linked below provide additional insight into the stories related to our park's sites.

Park Reports and Histories

Administrative History of Boston National Historical Park

This project was funded by the National Park Service. Principal Investigator Dr. Seth C. Bruggeman, Associate Professor of History and Director of the Center for Public History at Temple University, is the author of this report. Release of this report does not imply National Park Service endorsement of report content, conclusions or recommendations.

Patriots of Color 'A Peculiar Beauty and Merit,' African Americans and Native Americans at Battle Road & Bunker Hill

This 2004 study published by the National Park Service was compiled by Revolutionary War consultant George Quintal, Jr. The biographies of the individual soldiers Quintal initially researched and compiled are now integrated into a larger collection of biographies and articles featured on the Patriots of Color hub.

Previous Park Publications

Previously published Historic Resource Studies, Historic Structure Reports, among other documents are available on the digital repository npshistory.com.

Institutions with Additional Resources

There are several institutions in the Boston and Greater Boston area that have materials related to our park sites and stories. These include photographs, documents, belongings, among other items. Many institutions have digitized several collections from their archives, while other collections may only be available in-person. Please explore the list below for more information:

• National Archives at Boston (Waltham, Massachusetts)
• Boston Public Library
• Digital Commonwealth
• Revolutionary Spaces (Old State House and Old South Meeting House)
• Massachusetts Historical Society
• City of Boston Archives
• Massachusetts State Archives
• Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections
• Harvard - Houghton Library
• Harvard Radcliffe Institute - Schlesinger Library
• American Ancestors
• The History Project
• American Antiquarian Society
• Historic New England
• Boston Athenaeum
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology Collections
• MIT Museum Collections
• University of Massachusetts Boston Archives