With help from a generous Bean Foundation grant, the Historical Society of Amherst had the “Propriety Records of Souhegan West”—Amherst’s earliest official records dating from 1729 to 1771—conserved at the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) in Andover, Massachusetts in 2010. The record book, which was hand-written in iron gall ink and bound in parchment (animal skin), had been on display in the Society’s Chapel Museum for 50 years and was in need of attention. Mary Patrick Bogan, Senior Book Conservator at NEDCC, performed the conservation treatment on these historically-valuable records. Now that the record book is stable, it will be housed at the New Hampshire Historical Society's Tuck Library where it will be properly preserved for future generations. 

 

During the conservation process, the records were digitized and volunteers undertook the painstaking transcription process which was completed in 2012.  The record book is now ready to view in its entirety in a searchable flip book format.

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