Library Resources:

John Cotton Dana Library and Research Archive

The Woodstock Historical Society’s John Cotton Dana Research Library contains a wide variety of maps, and historical and genealogical resources. The photograph and document archive (shown to the right) contains diaries, letters, ephemera, historical photographs, land records, maps, and copies of the Vermont Standard and other local newspapers dating back to the 1800s.

The Woodstock Historical Society is an official Family Search site. This means that you can order records from the Mormon’s extensive database and have them sent to the Woodstock Historical Society, where you can view them. There is only a nominal charge for this service which provides patrons with access to records from both here and abroad.

Use of the John Cotton Dana Library is free to members of the Society and elementary school students. A research fee is charged for non-members. The library, which offers Ancestry.com and is equipped with high-speed internet access, is open Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9:30 am - 4:00 pm. Before you come in, please call our librarian, Jennifer Donaldson, with your research requests so that she may better accommodate you. Her telephone number is (802) 457-1822. Or, you may email Jennifer at jdonaldson@woodstockhistorical.org.

Pictured below  is one of the many valuable research tools available at the Woodstock History Center. This plain-looking, leather-bound book is a rare 1798 federal tax book that lists the residents of Windsor County, a description of their property holdings, and the amount of tax they were assessed. It is one of only a handful of extant tax books in the country from this period. The Woodstock History Center has had this book digitized as part of its ongoing efforts to make information accessible while simultaneously preserving artifacts and material culture. Computer stations are available at the History Center where you can view this book and other digitized resources. Come visit us soon!

Click Enlargement to see an enlarged version of a sample page from the tax book.