Local History

Historical Guide to the Gravestone of Salem, NH

This guide, compiled by Richard A. Carpenito in the late 1970s, lists burials in Salem's oldest cemeteries, including North Parish Graveyard, Pine Grove Cemetery, North Graveyard, Mount Pleasant Graveyard, Speare Hill Graveyard, Eternal Light Mausoleum, and Silver Private Graveyard. The guide has been scanned and is available as a PDF.

Newsbank provides local NH newspapers with full-text access to the Salem Observer (2009 to 2014) and the Eagle Tribune (2008 to present). Library card needed for access.

Salem Observer was the local paper for Salem NH. This database is key-word searchable and covers the years 1968-2010.

History of Salem N.H. by Edgar Gilbert. Read this history online from Salem's beginnings in 1735 through 1907. Photographs of homes, farms and business as well as early prominent citizens are included.

Salem NH History Discover annual reports from the 1870's, photos of early homesteads and residents. Listen to longtime residents share their stories from the 1970s. Watch the celebrations from Salem's 250th anniversary and much more.

Salem Town Record/Annual Reports These reports are provided by the UNH Digitial library.

Salem NH History Modules Learn about Canobie Lake, Rockingham Park, American's Stonehenge, and Salem Veterans.

In-house resources

Ancestry Plus provides a collection of more than 9,000 databases and 200 billion images from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Europe and Australia. You can search through these databases in the library and send a link to yourself to use outside of the library to access the information that you have found. View our tutorial - choose the tab to the right!

Eagle Tribune is the regional newspaper, covering events in Salem NH. Microfilm is available for the years January 1987 to October 2016. Available upon request

Local History Collection is located in the Kelly Room. Books and resources cover a broad range of topics including military, wars, family histories, NH History and Salem NH history. Also includes yearbooks from Woodbury High School and Salem High School. Click here for a list of items in this collection