Falmouth (Maine) Historical Society - Falmouth History References

Research - Falmouth History References

The first stop when researching the history of a town or its people is often a visit to the town library or historical society. There one can access published histories and references seldom found on shelves elsewhere. That's still true, but many of those dusty old tomes have been digitized and are now accessible via the Internet. Here you will find our digital library of books that our volunteers consult when responding to queries from the community. These volumes are out-of-copyright and links are posted here to Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) files. For more recently published references, you must still visit a library or historical society.

Clicking on the title will open the webpage at which the volume is hosted by a digital library. Clicking on the image of a volume will cause the PDF to be downloaded directly. Please alert us if a link is broken.

Books - Local History

Falmouth, Maine, Town Records, Book 1, 1718-1728
Town of Falmouth, Maine (1955), Cumberland County

Source: www.archive.org (46 MB)

Early town records of Falmouth.

Falmouth, Maine, Town Records, Book 2, 1728-1773
Town of Falmouth, Maine (1955), Cumberland County

Source: www.archive.org (110 MB)

Continuation of early town records of Falmouth.

Town records prior to 1718 were lost in the destruction of King William's and Queen Anne's Wars. Book 3 of this series, covering 1773-1786, was lost during a fire on October 6, 1849.

The History of Portland from 1632 to 1864
Willis, William (1865), Bailey & Noyes, Portland

Source: www.archive.org (54 MB)

This is the most authoritative history for Ancient Falmouth. Willis had the advantage of access to documents that were later lost plus original and second-hand oral histories.

History of Cumberland County, Maine
(1880), Everts & Peck, Philadelphia

Source: www.archive.org (62 MB)

An overview of Cumberland County and its more prominent citizens in 1880.

Cumberland County Registry of Deeds
Copied by F.A. Gerrish (1861), Index Revised (1948)
Sources: familysearch.org, archive.org (485 MB)

Due to the massive size of the PDF, links are provided only for the online copy at archive.org.

This is a meticulous transcription of the three volumes of the Proprietor's Records held by the Registrar of Deeds. The Proprietors' Map is the companion to this document.

Book of Eastern Claims
Transcribed by M.J. Moore

Source: Family History Library (14 MB)

A transcription of disputed and extinguished land claims in Maine from the 17th and early 18th century, many of which involve land in the towns by Casco Bay. These claims often contain information about the early settlement of Falmouth and surrounding towns not found elsewhere.

Vital Records of Cumberland, Maine 1701-1892
Bennett, Thomas (2014), Cumberland

Source: digitalmaine.com (8 MB)

Cumberland shares 8¾ miles of border with Falmouth. Many families spanned the border. Researching events in Falmouth often ends up in Cumberland.

Vital records of North Yarmouth, Maine, to the year 1850

Vital records of North Yarmouth, Maine, to the year 1850
Society of Mayflower Descendants (1980), Warwick, R.I.

Source: familysearch.org (31 MB)

When North Yarmouth was established in 1680, it encompassed the present-day towns of Harpswell (until 1750), Freeport (until 1789), Pownal (until 1808, from Freeport), Cumberland (until 1821), Yarmouth (until 1849), and North Yarmouth. Prior to 1821 when Cumberland split off, North Yarmouth was Falmouth's northern neighbor.

Ancient North Yarmouth and Yarmouth, Maine (1636-1936)
Rowe, William Hutchinson (1937), Yarmouth, Maine

Source: familysearch.org (51 MB)

The definitive history of Ancient North Yarmouth (including present-day Cumberland). This is the companion to Willis' history of Portland for the towns bordering Falmouth to the north. Many families spanned Falmouth and Cumberland making it necessary to look beyond the borders of Falmouth to obtain the complete story.

Old Times of North Yarmouth, Maine

Old Times of North Yarmouth, Maine (A Magazine)
Corliss, Augustus W. (1877-1885), Yarmouth, Maine

Source: archive.org

Old Times Volumes 1-2 (1877-1878)
Old Times Volumes 3-4 (1879-1880)
Old Times Volumes 5-6 (1881-1882)
Old Times Volumes 7-8 (1883-1884)
Wescustago Journal Issue 1 (1885)

The eight volumes of this magazine are filled with information about Ancient North Yarmouth (including present-day Cumberland) not readily accessible elsewhere including transcriptions of the records of the Proprietors of Ancient North Yarmouth.

More volumes to
be added soon!

Falmouth Heritage Museum
60 Woods Road, Falmouth, Maine 04105
Telephone: (207) 781-4727
Email: info@thefhs.org

Mailing Address
The Falmouth Historical Society
190 US Route One PMB 367
Falmouth, ME 04105