NOTE: You may email archives questions to Millicent@SailsInc.Org

This section of the library’s collection includes books and clippings files of local interest, including the entire run of the Fairhaven Star newspaper (1879 to 1967) which has been painstakingly indexed over the past fifteen years.The Fairhaven Star is online. Materials in this section of the library are unavailable for circulation–they are in many cases too fragile to even photocopy. You must call ahead and speak to the archivist to find out when you may come in to use the archives. The archives department has received scrapbooks and records of organizations, including an 1852 FHS alumni register. We also received photos of the Rogers estate, special editions of old newspapers, and local history books and photos. These gifts, mostly one-of-a-kind items, are the backbone of the history collection.See the Rules of the Archives.

The Eldred (Eldridge, Eldredge) 1635-1940 genealogy is now available in the Archives (not online). This collection is comprised of over 70 volumes that include census records and birth, death and marriage certificates. Bradford W. Luther, a local genealogist, has spent many years traveling around the country collecting and compiling this information. We are very grateful to be the recipient of Mr. Luther’s family genealogy.

Millicent Library Archives Databases

NEW! Fairhaven High School Yearbooks, have been digitized and put up on the Internet Archive. The library’s collection runs from 1923 – 2019. There are a few missing. The earlier ones are not yearbooks as we think of them and don’t have photos. Digitization was made possible by the Regional Digitization in Massachusetts, funded by LSTA Grant and administered by the Boston Public Library.

The Barnacle, “a free, biweekly news magazine serving the New Bedford Fishing industry and Maritime interests,” has been digitized and put up on the Digital Archives. It ran from 1990 and 1993. Library School student Samantha Correia scanned and uploaded these to archive.org

Fairhaven Town Reports 1847 to 2018. Browse to see how townspeople handled things.

The Fairhaven Star newspaper (1879-1967)The digital archive is made possible by the Community Preservation Act and the Millicent Library. It is at http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/APA/MillicentLibrary/

Fairhaven Cemetery Records It is designed to help users locate the graves of their relatives or other people in whom they are interested. It includes three cemeteries: Naskatucket, Riverside, and Woodside. When complete, it will contain the records of more than 25,000 burials. The information is based on cemetery records, town records, and field research at the cemeteries themselves. The database also includes cemeteries that are on private property and inaccessible to the public.

Fairhaven Vital Records 1844-1899 Birth, death, and marriage records of the Town of Fairhaven. It is designed to be used by genealogists, historians, and others interested in the people who lived in our town in the nineteenth century. In addition to the dates of life events, many entries include the cause of death, names of parents and spouses, and place of birth.

LOST FISHERMEN DATABASE Visit the Lost Fishermen site from the Millicent Library archives. A database dedicated to those local fishermen lost at sea. This is an ongoing labor of love from archivist Deb Charpentier and her volunteer staff.

Historic House Plaque form (MS Word doc.)

How to Inventory your House — Fairhaven Historical Commission

The Archivists of the Millicent Library are always grateful for donations of old photos, scrapbooks, and memorabilia relating to Fairhaven. It is amazing what we find while wading through bags full of old newspapers and scrapbooks. We can sometimes track down who is in an old photo like our favorite one of James Church and his lady friends.

Mr. Church was a pharmacist in Fairhaven and died in 1913 at the age of 79.