Local History
Enfield has a rich history and the Enfield Public Library is in the process of making that history more accessible to the community. By working with community partners like the Enfield Historical Society, the Connecticut State Library and the Friends of the Enfield Public Library, we have been able to digitize historic issues of the Enfield Press and the Yale Photographic Collection.
Newspapers
Local newspapers are one of the most valuable tools for conducting genealogical research. The Enfield Public Library has been digitizing our Thompsonville/Enfield Press Collection over the course of the last few years. The Connecticut Digital Archive currently provides online access to that collection (1880-1990). Please check back for updates as we work on uploading more issues.
Thompsonville Press (1880-1969)
Enfield Press (1969-1983)
The Press (1983-1984)
The Enfield Press (1984-)
EPL also has the microfilm collection 1880-2018 and digitized copies from 1880-2020. Stop by the reference desk for more information.
In 1909 Reverend David Lewis Yale of the First Congregational Church took his camera and documented life in Enfield. It is a truly unique snapshot of life in the first decade of the 20th Century. The Friends of the Enfield Public Library worked with Fred Bird Photography to digitize the glass slides. Reverend Yale gave slideshows with these images in the 1940s and the original notes that he used for the presentations are included to describe the photographs.
Frank Pease Barn on King St.
Enfield Historical Society
The Enfield Historical Society is a non-profit all-volunteer organization; whose mission is to preserve the history of Enfield, Connecticut and to educate the public about town history. To achieve these goals the Enfield Historical Society operate museums, collect artifacts and information pertaining to the Enfield's history, and conduct demonstrations, tours, regular meetings and other special events.
The Challenge of Change: Three Centuries of Enfield, Connecticut History edited by Ruth Bridge
The History of Enfield, Connecticut Volume I edited and published by Francis Olcot Allen
The History of Enfield, Connecticut Volume II edited and published by Francis Olcot Allen
The History of Enfield, Connecticut Volume III edited and published by Francis Olcot Allen
Nonsense, Common Sense, Incense by Franklin J. Sheldon
Enfield Veterans History Project
Filmed interviews with local veterans talking about their experiences and personal accounts during their service. Made available online by the Library of Congress' Veteran History Project, co-sponsored by the Enfield Commission on Aging and the Enfield Board of Education.
Image Collections
Robert Milner Image Collection
Former Enfield resident, Bob Milner, generously shared scans of his image collection. Includes Enfield/Thompsonville postcards and images of 1955 Flood.
John F. Malley Image Collection
Current Enfield resident John Malley's photographs of the 1955 flood in Enfield, CT. The collection also contains other images not from the flood such as images of Thompsonville.
Don Tenerowicz Image Collection
1955 Flood photographs in the Thompsonville section of Enfield.
