First Congregational Church of Franklin Partners with the Franklin Public Library to Preserve Historic Town Records

The First Congregational Church of Franklin, in partnership with the Franklin Public Library, is proud to announce the successful completion of a year-long project to organize and preserve a remarkable collection of 18th and 19th century records that document the early civic and spiritual life of the Town of Franklin.

Spearheaded by Vicki Earls, Reference Librarian at the Franklin Public Library, and Christine Brown, longtime church member, the project brought together historical expertise and community dedication to ensure that these fragile and invaluable documents are protected for future generations. These records, originating from the time when the church functioned as the de facto seat of government in colonial Massachusetts, are not only essential to the church’s history, but also serve as critical town archives from Franklin’s earliest days.

Lyn and Vicki library archive room April 2025

“This effort was a true collaboration rooted in a shared respect for our town’s deep history,” said Brown. “It was an honor to help care for these documents, which tell the story of both our congregation and our community.”

As part of the preservation effort, the historic records have been carefully relocated to the Franklin Public Library’s secure, environmentally controlled archive room. This facility will ensure the long-term safety of the documents, protecting them from temperature fluctuations, humidity, and other environmental factors that contribute to deterioration.

The project would not have been possible without the enthusiastic support of Felicia Oti, Library Director, who generously enabled Earls to dedicate time and expertise to the work. The church also extends special thanks to Lyn Pickhover, Church Historian, whose years of careful custodianship laid the foundation for this preservation initiative.

Together, the team carefully reviewed, organized, and rehoused the documents to prevent further degradation and to make them more accessible for future research.

“This project reflects the spirit of Franklin,” said Earls. “It’s about honoring our past, working together across institutions, and ensuring that the stories of those who came before us are not lost.”

Plans are in place to continue preserving and digitizing the collection to allow for broader public access and educational use.  

Digitized records currently available can be found on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/@first_congregational_church_of_franklin

For more information about the project or the records, please contact Vicki Earls at Franklin Public Library.

Colorized film of Stanley Chilson, Franklin 1936 (video)

"I colorized , restored, and created sound design for this video of the town of Franklin, Massachusetts in 1936, we can clearly see what's happening in broad daylight, Street Scene Video Restoration Process: ✔ FPS boosted to 60 frames per second ✔ Image resolution boosted up to HD ✔ Improved video sharpness and brightness ✔ Colorized only for the ambiance (not historically accurate) ✔sound design added only for the ambiance ✔restoration:(stabilisation,denoise,cleand,deblur) Please, be aware that colorization colors are not real and fake, colorization was made only for the ambiance and do not represent real historical data. B&W Video Source: Internet Archive (Stanley Chilson)"

Video link -> https://youtu.be/nc64ZaQXX6s

Colorized film of Stanley Chilson, Franklin 1936 (video)

Autumn Hill development proposed for Summer St

With the scheduled public hearing before the Planning Board for the proposed 44 unit senior and inclusionary housing condominium on Summer St, it is good to go deep in the archives to be aware of the prior development for the same property.

A special report collected the history of the Residential VII zoning proposed for rezoning the property at the time which failed to gain approval.

The new proposal comes forward without a zoning change required only a couple of special permits (per public hearing notice  https://www.franklinma.gov/legal-notices/agenda/488-496-summer-street-autumn-hill-senior-village-planning-board)

The 5 post series can be found 

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2017/01/part-5-full-residential-vii-timeline.html

The Autum Hill plans as submitted can be found 

https://www.franklinma.gov/planning-board/pages/autumn-hill-senior-village-488-and-496-summer-street-02022024

Autumn Hill development proposed for Summer St

From the June archives - if you missed it then, you can catch up to it now (audio)

FM #1011 - The audio of the Franklin Food Pantry Grand Opening Ceremony held outside the new facility at 341 West Central Street. The familiar Edwin’s has been renovated to house the Food Pantry operations -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/06/franklin-food-pantry-celebrates-grand.html

FM #1013 - The audio of Tri-County RVTHS 4th in a series of Community Updates to share information on the school building project on Thursday, June 15, 2023 -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/06/tri-county-building-project-update.html

FM #1016 - The audio of my conversation with Amber Wilson, President of the Franklin LGBTQ Alliance -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/06/preparing-to-celebrate-with-pride-in.html

 

You can find more in the Franklin Matters Radio podcast page here ->   https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/

Franklin Matters Radio podcast page

From the May audio archives - If you missed it then, you can catch up to it now (audio)

FM #993 -  Spend a few minutes with this "must listen" summary from Town Administrator Jamie Hellen on FY 2024 ->   https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/05/franklinites-spend-few-minutes-with.html

FM #1001 - The audio of the Town of Franklin Memorial Day ceremony held on the Town Common at the end of the parade on Monday, May 29, 2023. -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/05/town-of-franklin-memorial-day-ceremony.html

FM #1002 - The audio of the Favorite Poem Project Reading held in the Franklin Public Library on Saturday, April 29, 2023 -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/06/the-favorite-poem-project-reading-for.html

You can find more in the Franklin Matters Radio podcast page here ->   https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/

Franklin Matters Radio podcast page

Override & debt exclusion info in the archives

Now that the "O" word (override) has been mentioned, there is a bunch of information in these  archives that may be useful to provide the historical perspective. 

Long time readers may recall that Franklin Matters came to be during the 2007 override and the domain officially was born in Nov 2007. 

The 2007 Override is noteworthy as it is the only successful override Franklin has passed in its history to date. It passed because there was unified support across the Town Council and School Committee. The succeeding overrides (2008 & 2010) failed because that unity did not exist. Some naysayers among the Council and School Committee created enough doubt and discord that success was unattainable. 

There also was a special ballot question on the State election of 2014 to provide $1.5 million to fund road maintenance that failed significantly. As it was a Sate election, Franklin turned out at 59% (normal for State elections) and 8289 voters said No, 3583 said Yes. https://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/10/ballot-question-5-dedicated-override-to.html

Coming out of the 2008 override failure there was recognition that a long term financial plan needed to be developed. A committee was created and began work on that in early 2010. The Financial Planning Committee changed to the Long Range Planning Committee. The first report they produced is now what we see each year when the Town Administrator publishes their 5 year outlook.

The Joint Budget Committee is the current working group to help with these long range and financial planning matters. They have not met frequently enough so we find ourselves now in a position where some folks understand the situation and many do not. The Joint Budget should meet more frequently (at least quarterly, in my view) rather than the annual meeting they have had in recent years.

The archive has links to collect the information pasted for each of the elections. 

• Franklin Override - 2007
• Franklin Override - 2008
• Franklin Override - 2010

There is also a spreadsheet with the specific ballot question history for both the debt exclusions (i.e. schools) and override votes. 

• Franklin Override - Debt Exclusion Vote History

Some of the links break as the Town and School pages were updated twice since then (and neither upgrade maintained link integrity). 

If you find a link that might be valuable for your research, let me know, I might have the individual document in my own archives and can find and update the link accordingly.

Additional archive links can be found in the Key Link tab https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/important-links.html

Lincoln St road work during Aug 2014

Merry Christmas to all celebrating!

I hope you can and will enjoy this holiday with family and friends. 

If you have time to catch up on some Franklin news, feel free to scroll through the 

• meeting notes (https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/meeting-notes.html)
• listen to one of the wfpr.fm podcasts (https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/franklin-matters-radio.html)
• listen to one of the Franklin Matters podcasts  (https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/fm-podcasts.html)
• or search for a particular term or phrase and explore the results 

And if you haven't already subscribed for the one email you receive daily with all the Franklin news, please consider doing so ->   https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/welcome.html

Merry Christmas to all celebrating!

The Stanley Chilson film archives are now available online

On a random visit to the Franklin Historical Museum, you could walk in, find the movie screen down and one of the many Stanley Chilson films playing. Mostly black & white, the more recent ones in color, you could step back in time for a parade or emergency response by the Fire Dept. Now those films are available online and you can watch anytime you wish.

Via Franklin Observer:  

"Lifelong resident, Stanley Grant Chilson, was a graduate of Dean Academy in Franklin and Worcester Polytechnic Institute -- and he lived for photography. Still camera images he took in profusion, capturing in detail the activities of the Franklin Fire Department -- and other departments in the region. He also assembled an annual collection of film clips for each year from 1935 to 1963.  His films, preserved, and then digitized in the early 2000s, have now been made available online -- just  few clicks away -- on the Franklin Library's Internet Archive page, by Reference Librarian Vicki Earls.

You can access the collection at any time by  selecting Local History and Genealogy from the left hand menu on the Franklin Library website. From there, click on Stanley Chilson Films of Franklin online at the Internet Archive."

Continue reading the announcement online -> 

https://franklinobserver.town.news/g/franklin-town-ma/n/132667/franklin-librarys-chilson-time-machine-now-and-running

Who was Stanley Chilson? Another posting in the Franklin Observer shares some of the background on his life in Franklin.

"The term Paparazzi was just coming into existence toward the end of Stanley Chilson’s career as a photographer chronicling Franklin, his home town, as well as other towns in the region. The credit or blame for the term goes to Federico Fellini who’s La Dolce Vita included an obsessive photographer of that surname.

And while Chilson might have objected to the pejorative associations of the term, the general idea of an ever-ready photographer continually catching life as it was being lived fits him perfectly.

And who was Stanley Grant Chilson? For a man with a definite public persona, not much is apparent about him other than his early and consistent passion for photography, a passion only rivaled by his interest in the fire service, a topic he chronicled exhaustively.... there are literally hundreds of photographs of fire and rescue activities in the town in the years he was active."

Continue reading about Stanley online ->

https://franklinobserver.town.news/g/franklin-town-ma/n/132917/hometown-history-107-stanley-chilson-peoples-paparazzi

How to get to the film archives?

1. From the Library home page   https://www.franklinma.gov/franklin-public-library
2. To the Genealogy Club page   https://vbuchanio.wixsite.com/franklinlibgenclub/testimonials
3. To the Internet Archive page for Stanley Chilson   https://archive.org/details/@stanley_chilson_films_of_franklin

There is also a direct link from the Franklin Matters "Other Resource" section

The Stanley Chilson film archives are now available online

Welcome - a little fall house cleaning is in order

Welcome - Let's take a couple of minutes to provide a quick review of what you find here: 

Across the top Navigation menu

Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/

If you haven't already Subscribed; please do, you will receive only one email per day with all that matters. https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/welcome.html

Why Franklin Matters - why I started this in 2006/2007 and have been at it since https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/why-franklin-matters.html

Meeting notes: the archive on meeting notes and audio recordings for meetings going back to 2008. If interested, a link to the 2007 archives is also available. 

https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/meeting-notes.html

wfpr.rm podcasts, or play anywhere Radio shows. The link to each podcast as well as the most current episode of each can be found on the page in alphabetical order. https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/franklin-matters-radio.html

The Franklin Matters Radio archives grow regularly as recordings of meetings and interviews are posted. https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/fm-podcasts.html

Among the radio shows posted there are some regular series

• Talk Franklin - a regular discussion with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen

• Town Council Quarterbacking with Chair Tom Mercer - a post meeting recap

• Interviews with candidates for the Franklin local election (every two years)

• Audio segments of meetings and events recorded, many of them shared via wfpr.fm radio

• If you look for an episode and find a broken link, please let me know. I did change podcast hosts in February 2021. Links prior to that may be in the older format and I can’t update them all easily. They are available and I will do them as you need them.

Key links - a page with collections of writing around a topic. For example the “Election Collections” for each local election since 2007 are available

https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/important-links.html

Community Events - built upon the “Cultural Calendar”, this adds the other community events to provide a more holistic view of what is happening. The Town and School official meetings are maintained on their respective calendars.

https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/blog-page.html

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements.

Library of Congress: Completes Digitization of 23 Early Presidential Collections

Library of Congress Completes Digitization of 23 Early Presidential Collections The Library of Congress has completed a more than two decade-long initiative to digitize the papers of nearly two dozen early presidents. The Library holds the papers of 23 presidents from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge, all of which have been digitized and are now available online (https://www.loc.gov/collections/). Click here for more information (https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-20-085/?loclr=ealn).

Attention film buffs: TCM to Screen 2020 National Film Registry Selections - Dec 15

TCM to Host Screening Special Featuring National Film Registry Selections Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced today the annual selection of 25 of America's most influential motion pictures to be inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will host a television special Tuesday, Dec. 15, starting at 8 p.m. ET to screen a selection of motion pictures named to the registry this year. Hayden will join TCM host and film historian Jacqueline Stewart to discuss the films. Select titles from 30 years of the National Film Registry are freely available online in the National Screening Room  (https://www.loc.gov/collections/national-screening-room/).  Click here for more information (https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-20-082/?loclr=ealn).

National Recording Registry Class Produces Ultimate 'Stay at Home' Playlist

"The gentle sounds of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”; Russ Hodges’ thrilling play-by-play of the National League tiebreaker between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951; the Village People’s international dance anthem, “Y.M.C.A.”; “Cheap Trick at Budokan”; and the original 1964 Broadway cast recording of “Fiddler on the Roof” are among the newest recordings inducted into the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden today named these and 20 other recordings as aural treasures worthy of preservation because of their cultural, historical and aesthetic importance to the nation’s recorded sound heritage.

“The National Recording Registry is the evolving playlist of the American soundscape. It reflects moments in history captured through the voices and sounds of the time,” said Hayden. “We received over 800 nominations this year for culturally, historically or aesthetically significant recordings to add to the registry. As genres and formats continue to expand, the Library of Congress is committed to working with our many partners to preserve the sounds that have touched our hearts and shaped our culture.”

Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian, with advice from the Library’s National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB), is tasked with annually selecting 25 titles that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and are at least 10 years old. More information on the National Recording Registry can be found at loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/about-this-program/.

Continue reading about this  https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-20-023/?loclr=ealn

Listen link can be found here
https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/recording-registry/listen-to-registry-titles/
 

National Recording Registry Class Produces Ultimate 'Stay at Home' Playlist

Happy New Year

Goodbye 2019, hello 2020!

I hope you are all able to spend some quality time with family and friends as we begin this new year.

If you need some additional reading, feel free to cruise through the archives. The archives contain over 21,000 posts going back to 2007.

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors. They can subscribe for one email per day with all that matters  https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/welcome.html
• If you don't like this, please let me know.

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements.

be safe moving about this new year

Merry Christmas

Amid the darkness of winter, there is more light each day. I hope you are all able to spend some quality time with family and friends.

If you need some additional reading, feel free to cruise through the archives. The archives contain over 21,000 posts going back to 2007.

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors.
• If you don't like this, please let me know.

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements.

Merry Christmas

Register O'Donnell Makes History Come Alive

	Norfolk County Registry of Deeds
	Register O'Donnell Makes History Come Alive Registry of Deeds William P. O'Donnell today reminded history buffs that all hand written documents at the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds have been electronically transcribed and are available for viewing and printing. "The Norfolk County Registry of Deeds has been in existence for 225 years. During that time, the Registry has gone from the days of scriveners with quill pens to the modern era of computers and advanced document imaging. We are proud of the effort undertaken to transcribe images of handwritten land documents dating back from 1793 to 1900," noted O'Donnell. "With the transcription process complete, we now have all our land documents, approximately 8,000,000, available at our website www.norfolkdeeds.org." O'Donnell further stated, "We are extraordinarily proud that the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds was the first in New England back in 2017 to go through this transcription process. The effort undertaken to transcribe these hard to read land documents represented a special effort by the Registry and its vendor to have an accurate representation of these handwritten land documents. This undertaking has allowed the public to perform historical, genealogical and land record research." The Register added that 12.5 million words of Old English prose written in cursive penmanship were transcribed into readable computer text. It should be noted that while the transcribers made a best effort to translate these hard to read documents, their accuracy is not guaranteed. "These transcribed documents," stated Register O'Donnell, "are not legal documents in and of itself, and are not considered binding on the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds or its employees. It is considered merely a convenient reference for Registry users. For documentation purposes, users should refer to the scanned image of the original document instead of the transcribed image." "It is a wonderful time to take advantage of this technological breakthrough. Genealogy InTime Magazine estimated that 7.93 million Americans are involved in tracking their ancestors," noted O'Donnell. The Register also stated that two-time Pulitzer Prize winning historian David McCullough was fascinated and delighted to learn about the project, writing "... you {Registry} are making a large and important contribution and I send my warmest congratulations." Concluding his remarks, O'Donnell stated, "As Register of Deeds, I take very seriously my responsibility to be the custodian of land document information in Norfolk County. Part of that responsibility is to ensure the accuracy and accessibility of these land documents. Future generations will now be able to read these transcribed images with the goal of ensuring a historically correct record of land documents in Norfolk County." To learn more about these and other Registry of Deeds events and initiatives, like us at facebook.com/NorfolkDeeds or follow us on twitter.com/NorfolkDeeds and/or Instagram.com/NorfolkDeeds. The Norfolk County Registry of Deeds is located at 649 High Street in Dedham. The Registry is a resource for homeowners, title examiners, mortgage lenders, municipalities and others with a need for secure, accurate, accessible land record information. All land record research information can be found on the Registry's website www.norfolkdeeds.org. Residents in need of assistance can contact the Registry of Deeds Customer Service Center via telephone at (781) 461-6101, or email us at registerodonnell@norfolkdeeds.org. Register William P. O'Donnell Norfolk County Registry of Deeds email: registerodonnell@norfolkdeeds.org phone: 781-234-3336 web: https://www.norfolkdeeds.org

Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, 649 High Street, Dedham,, MA 02026-1831 SafeUnsubscribe™ shersteve@gmail.com Forward email | Update Profile | About our service provider Sent by registerodonnell@norfolkdeeds.org in collaboration with Try email marketing for free today!

Register O'Donnell Makes History Come Alive

On this date: Mar 6, 2011: The week in Review

Yes, I did a weekly review for a period of time. The time I put into it didn't seem to be worth it in generating more readers or engagement so it came to an end. 

As the Town gets more and more into timely publication of reports, presentations, agendas, and meeting minutes, then perhaps this is something to reconsider. Until then, the podcast will share key meetings or events.

FM #88 - Week ending 3/6/11

Lets take less than ten minutes to review what matters in Franklin, MA as the week ends March 6, 2011. 

Time: 6 minutes, 20 seconds

For the full set of show notes
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/03/fm-88-week-ending-3611.html

On this date: Mar 6, 2011: The week in Review mentioned the Community Garden

On this date: Mar 5, 2010: The Franklin Area Bus

Stepping back into the archives for March 5, 2010 we find that the Town of Franklin had just put out a survey to improve the Franklin Area Bus service provided by GATRA. 

Did you know Franklin had a bus service? GATRA or the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transportation Authority provides the service for $1.50.

"Franklin has issued a survey and is looking for your feedback on the Franklin Area Bus service, also know as GATRA. 

The bus has been running the same route for two years, and the town wants to improve that route if necessary."

(The survey links are not working today so no need to try them.)
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2010/03/what-do-you-think-about-franklin-area.html

You can find a map of the current bus route, schedule and fares on the GATRA page (link below). It is also linked to from the Franklin web page under the "Meet Me in Franklin" section
http://www.gatra.org/index.php/routes/bellingham-franklin/franklin-area-bus/

On this date: Mar 5, 2010: The Franklin Area Bus

GATRA bus on the Franklin route

On this date: Mar 4, 2009: Names change, topics remain the same

Stepping into the archives for March 4, 2009 also finds Franklin Matters reporting live from the Town Council meeting held that day. Only 9 years ago and yet given some of the longevity on the current Town Council, none of the names from 2009 are part of the Council today. 

Some of the topics however, remain the same. At this meeting the Council approved funds to survey the Pond St property. The former sewer beds that were eventually sold to a developer which is building 90+ units today.

An update from the Facilities Department was rescheduled as the Councilor who requested it missed the meeting. Capital appropriations for the purchase of a fire truck and a lawn mower were approved.

Creation of an economic opportunity area in Forge Park was also up for discussion.

Live reporting - Town Council 3/4/09

Attending: Whalen, Mason, Vallee, Bartlett, Feeley, Pfeffer, Doak
Missing: McGann, Zollo

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2009/03/live-reporting-town-council-3409.html

Pond St property map  shown at a Council meeting in 2016